This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1957. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Building 1025 at Fairchild Air Force Base has operated as a fighter jet hangar since at least 1957, with its oil-water separator (OW047) receiving industrial wastes — spent solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons in multiple fractions, and metals — from hangar operations throughout that period. In 1995, the oil-water separator was removed and petroleum-contaminated soil was excavated; investigation-derived wastewater was treated through an air stripping system and impacted soil was disposed of as special waste. Site investigations continued through 2015, and OW047 has since reached No Further Action status under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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 contamination at OW047 traces directly to hangar operations and industrial waste disposal practices that began in 1957, nearly three decades before occurrence-based CGL policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. Spent solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, and metals discharged into the oil-water separator over that pre-1986 operational window represent precisely the type of long-running industrial release those policies were underwritten to cover. The documented remediation costs — separator removal, soil excavation, air stripping treatment, and nearly two decades of post-removal investigation — are expenditures that historical carriers who issued policies during that period may 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.
