This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1900. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

Cyanide-based ore processing began at this site in 1937 — nearly five decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. The contamination now documented in the mine drainage and tailings impoundment traces directly to those pre-1986 industrial operations, not to any recent incident. The costs ahead — closing a tailings impoundment and managing contaminated groundwater from century-old underground workings — represent exactly the kind of remediation expenditures that historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during the long operational period before 1986 may be obligated to fund.

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.