This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1930. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as the site of a Tsubota steel business and a cordage (rope) manufacturing operation, with buildings constructed in the 1930s and 1940s. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included the excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 500 tons of petroleum-impacted soil, removal of four underground storage tanks — two in the early 1990s and two in 2007–2008 — construction of a 250-foot French drain, and quarterly groundwater monitoring over multiple consecutive quarters. The site has received a No Further Action determination from Ecology. 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 releases at this property are attributed to industrial operations spanning as far back as the 1930s, with contamination estimated to be 50 to 80 years old as of 2011 — placing the origin of releases decades before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the steel and cordage operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The documented remediation expenditures — soil excavation, four UST removals, French drain installation, and long-term groundwater monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers who covered those operations may still be obligated to reimburse.
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.
