This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1890. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a sawmill and wood products manufacturing facility from the late nineteenth century through 2004 and 2005, when saw and shingle mill operations ceased. Multiple underground storage tanks were in service throughout the site's industrial history — one taken out of service prior to 1964, and additional USTs storing leaded gasoline removed in 1990 and 1993. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program ran from 1996 through 2016, encompassing multiple soil excavations, UST removals, Oxygen Releasing Compound groundwater treatment, and removal of significant volumes of impacted water from excavations; remediation technologies including air sparging, permeable reactive barriers, capping, and slurry walls have been evaluated for future phases. 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.
Sawmill operations and underground fuel storage at this site date to the late nineteenth century, placing the contamination origin decades before 1986 — the threshold year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. USTs storing leaded gasoline were installed and operated throughout the pre-1986 era under CGL policies that carried no such exclusion, establishing a direct nexus between the documented soil and groundwater contamination and historical carrier obligations. The remediation expenditures on record here — soil excavations, UST removals, groundwater treatment, and ongoing feasibility evaluation — represent costs that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
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.
