This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was historically operated as a nursery, and past agricultural use left behind extensive pesticide and herbicide contamination across the site. Remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included the removal of approximately 9,013 tons of pesticide/herbicide-impacted soil, five underground storage tanks, roughly 1,400 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, drums, containers, and above-ground storage tanks. Benzene detected in groundwater was addressed through in-situ oxidation, followed by at least seven consecutive quarterly groundwater monitoring events. The site has since received No Further Action status and been redeveloped as Des Moines Creek Business Park IV. 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.
The pesticides documented at this site — p,p'-DDT, Aldrin, Dieldrin, and Chlordane — were restricted or banned for most agricultural uses between 1972 and 1978, placing the nursery's active application of these chemicals squarely within the pre-1986 period when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. More than 9,000 tons of pesticide-impacted soil and benzene-affected groundwater required documented, costly remediation directly traceable to those nursery-era operations. Historical carriers whose CGL policies covered this property while those chemicals were in active use may still be obligated to recover those cleanup expenditures.
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.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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.
