This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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 lead contamination underlying this property's inclusion in the Harbor Island Superfund listing — established in 1983 — originated from heavy industrial smelting operations that predate 1986 by years if not decades. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. The site's documented and ongoing remediation obligations — engineered containment, long-term groundwater monitoring, and future cleanup work — represent costs that historical carriers whose policies covered the smelter's operational period 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.