This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1905. 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.

Every pound of contamination at this site originates from coal gasification and coal tar operations that ended in 1948 and 1967, respectively — all predating by decades the 1986 threshold at which occurrence-based CGL policies began to incorporate effective pollution exclusions. The operators running those facilities through the mid-twentieth century were covered by policies that could not lawfully exclude the slow, ongoing releases now driving this cleanup. The documented scope of remediation here — tens of thousands of cubic yards of impacted soil, multi-year groundwater management, engineered caps, vapor controls, and financially assured long-term monitoring — represents the kind of large-scale cost trail that makes pursuit of historical carriers whose policies covered the SGM and coal tar operations both viable and warranted.

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.