This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Ellehammer Packaging facility in Olympia operated as a large warehouse for packaging and distribution in an industrial area, where spent chlorinated solvents were used in operations until at least 1995, when a PCE release was discovered. Remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included two rounds of in-situ chemical oxidation in 1998 and excavation and off-site disposal of 125 cubic yards (173 tons) of contaminated soil. A Restrictive Covenant recorded in 1999 limits property use and groundwater extraction, with the building foundation serving as an ongoing containment control and periodic reviews continuing through at least 2017. The site has received No Further Action status. 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 discovery of spent chlorinated solvents at this packaging facility in 1995 indicates that PCE-based solvents were in active industrial use here well before that date — a pattern of solvent handling consistent with decades of warehouse and packaging operations that would have predated 1986. CGL policies issued to industrial operators during those years were written to cover exactly this type of gradual, use-related solvent release. The costs Ellehammer Packaging incurred — chemical oxidation, soil excavation, years of groundwater monitoring, and recorded covenant compliance — are the kind of remediation expenditures those historical carriers may still be obligated to recover.
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.
