This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Fairchild Air Force Base was established in 1942, and aerial records confirm structures were present at Site SS059 by the early 1950s and had been removed by the early 1960s. During parking lot construction in 2010, petroleum-contaminated soil of unknown origin — suspected to be from a former underground storage tank — was discovered beneath what is now the FAFB Fitness Center (Building 2379). Remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included excavation of approximately 30 cubic yards of contaminated soil, management and treatment of investigation-derived waste, and multi-year investigations from 2010 through 2018; the site has since reached No Further Action status, with any residual petroleum expected to attenuate naturally. 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 petroleum contamination at this property traces to base infrastructure — most likely an underground storage tank — associated with mid-century Air Force operations that predate 1986 by three decades or more. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies in effect during those early operational years carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington, and the contamination event here bears every hallmark of the slow, historical releases those policies were written to cover. The documented cleanup expenditures — soil excavation, investigation-derived waste management, and eight years of remedial investigation — represent costs that historical carriers whose policies were active during Fairchild's mid-century build-out 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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
