This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1935. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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.

Explosives manufacturing at this site began in 1935 and continued for more than four decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased to provide reliable pollution coverage in Washington. Carbon tetrachloride — the primary contaminant tied directly to those manufacturing operations — is precisely the kind of slow, diffuse industrial release that pre-1986 CGL policies were written to address. The remediation record here spans more than thirty years of documented expenditure: source excavations, scrap removal, drinking-water infrastructure replacement, a pump-and-treat pilot program, and decades of ongoing groundwater monitoring. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the 1935–1976 operational window may be obligated to contribute to those costs.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.