This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

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.

The DRO contamination at this site originated from farm equipment operations that began in the 1950s — more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. Although the release was not confirmed to a specific incident, Ecology's own documents frame it as a historic release tied to those pre-1986 agricultural operations. The remediation expenditures here — soil excavation, large-scale groundwater dewatering, and multi-stage compliance monitoring — are costs directly traceable to that pre-1986 operational window, and historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the orchard's active years may retain an obligation to respond to them.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.