This property has a documented history as a facility using PFAS-containing firefighting foam going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Geiger SIA Fuel Farm and the adjacent Electric Avenue area at Geiger Field have been tied to fire training activities — including a firefighting practice burn pit operated by the Air National Guard and Spokane Airport — with fuel farm operations dating to 1964 and the Park Drive waste disposal area to the early 1940s. Contamination was identified by 1984, triggering site investigations and monitoring that have continued for decades under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. Remediation included tank removal, excavation of approximately 14,900 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, and recovery of 3,000 gallons of product and 17,500 gallons of groundwater, with recommendations for continued groundwater monitoring for one to five additional years. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property originated from fuel farm operations and fire training activities that began decades before 1986 — the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. The remediation record here is substantial: tank removals, nearly 15,000 tons of impacted soil excavated, and tens of thousands of gallons of product and groundwater recovered from a contamination plume first identified in 1984. Historical CGL carriers who issued policies to the Air National Guard or airport operators during that pre-1986 operational window may still be obligated to recover those documented 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.
