This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1958. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property was constructed in the late 1950s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Combined Field Maintenance Shop, housing battery ordnance, internal guidance repair, hydraulic repair, paint spray booth, and general service and shop operations. Two underground storage tanks — a 550-gallon tank installed during the original military era and a 12,000-gallon tank removed in 1993 — have been taken out along with associated petroleum-contaminated soils, but the site remains in the Standard Cleanup program with further remediation awaiting action. Proposed cleanup activities include additional soil excavation and disposal, plugging of floor drains, modification of storm sewer connections, decommissioning of an on-site well, and semiannual groundwater monitoring. 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 contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated during USACE military maintenance activities that began in the late 1950s — nearly three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. The cleanup costs the property owner now faces — soil excavation, infrastructure modifications, well decommissioning, and long-term groundwater monitoring — are the type of remediation expenditures that historical CGL carriers whose policies were in effect during those pre-1986 military operations 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.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
