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.

Operations at this compressor station extended well before 1986 — the facility used sodium arsenate as a corrosion inhibitor in its glycol mixture until 1971, establishing decades of industrial activity during the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Mercury, PCBs, and hydrocarbon contamination arising from long-term compressor operations represent the type of gradual industrial release those policies were written to cover. The documented remediation costs here — soil excavation, engineered drainage infrastructure, and long-term groundwater monitoring — are expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the pre-1971 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.