This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1931. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property served as an industrial waste disposal site for Rayonier's pulp mill in Shelton, receiving spent calcium sulfite liquor directly into Goose Lake from approximately 1931 to 1943, and accepting solid mill waste — including ash, char, and laboratory garbage — in an inactive landfill at the lake's east end from approximately 1936 to 1974. Ecology initiated cleanup under an Agreed Order in 2001, followed by remedial investigation field studies in 2002 and 2003 and supplemental soil, sediment, groundwater, and geomorphic studies spanning 2005 to 2016. Active remediation has not yet commenced; the site remains in the planning phase for future cleanup actions. 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 industrial waste disposal that contaminated Goose Lake began in 1931 — more than five decades before 1986 — when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Rayonier's pulp mill operations generated and disposed of sulfite liquor, ash, and char at this site throughout an era when those policies were in force and routinely covered releases of industrial waste. The multi-year investigation costs already incurred, and the substantial remediation expenditures that cleanup planning will generate going forward, may be recoverable from the historical carriers whose CGL policies covered Rayonier's operations during that disposal window.
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.
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.
