This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1979. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property was developed in 1979 by Penton Pipe Tubing Corporation, a wholesale pipe distributor, with an underground storage tank installed that same year for gasoline and diesel fuel storage. Colonial Cedar began operating the site as a finished cedar wood products mill in 1982 and purchased the property in 1985. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has been ongoing since 1997 and has included excavation of 2,348 cubic yards of contaminated soil, removal of a 2,000-gallon UST, pumping of 40,000 gallons of affected groundwater, dual-phase groundwater extraction, air sparging, and operation of a soil vapor extraction system from 1999 through 2006. Long-term monitoring and institutional controls — environmental covenants and impermeable surface capping — are planned. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible
Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.
Petroleum contamination at this site originated from a UST system installed in 1979 and operated through industrial use spanning nearly two decades, with documented fuel releases occurring as early as 1979. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. Nearly three decades of remediation expenditures — soil excavation, tank removal, groundwater extraction, vapor treatment, and ongoing monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund as cleanup continues.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
