This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1983. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a concrete batch plant from approximately 1983, with industrial infrastructure that included diesel and propane aboveground storage tanks, admixture storage tanks, cement silos, and a wastewater settling pond. Petroleum releases from those historical operations contaminated the site soils; between May and July 2019, 4,748 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil were excavated and disposed of offsite under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. Remedial investigation and cleanup work spanned from 2018 to 2022, with natural attenuation anticipated for remaining contamination. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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.
The petroleum contamination here is directly attributable to storage and handling operations at the concrete batch plant, which was constructed and operating by 1983 — within the window when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation expenditures — excavation and offsite disposal of nearly 4,750 tons of impacted soil plus years of investigation — represent substantial cleanup costs tied to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the plant's operational years may still be obligated to recover those costs.
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.
