This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation going back to 1967. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as a vehicle maintenance, fueling, and equipment storage yard for National Frozen Foods from 1967 through August 2000, supporting the seasonal harvest of vegetables and fruits across the surrounding agricultural land. The site was likely part of a large farm prior to 1967. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program ran from 2001 to 2006 and included underground storage tank removal, soil excavation, in-situ soil treatment using hydrogen peroxide and Fenton's-type reactions, air sparging, groundwater purge-water treatment, soil vapor extraction, and quarterly groundwater monitoring. 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.
Contamination at this property — petroleum hydrocarbons from fueling infrastructure, PCBs potentially predating 1979, and pesticides from historical farming — originated from operations that began decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The multi-year remediation campaign required to address releases from the former tank pit, oil storage shed, and agricultural use generated substantial documented cleanup costs across tank removals, excavation, chemical treatment, vapor extraction, and years of monitoring. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the operators during that pre-1986 window may still be obligated to recover those expenditures.
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
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.
