This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1955. 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.

Dry cleaning operations at this site began more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The PCE contamination in soil and groundwater here traces directly to those historical dry cleaning operations, and more than two decades of remediation expenditures — investigations, independent cleanups, and ongoing monitoring — have already been incurred to address it. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the pre-1986 operational window may be obligated both to recover those past costs and to fund the cleanup work that Ecology continues to require.

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.