This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The NW Pipeline Unocal Finley Meter Station in Kennewick is a natural gas meter station operated by Northwest Pipeline GP, where inorganic mercury was used in differential pressure manometers and thermowells for gas measurement and calibration. Accidental mercury spillage during historic maintenance and calibration activities contaminated soils at the site; mercury-containing manometers were phased out in the mid-to-late 1980s, and thermowell mercury use was discontinued by 1993. Remedial activities began in the early 1990s and continued through a multi-year Voluntary Cleanup Program that included Terrestrial Ecological Evaluations and a 2011 excavation campaign removing 46.21 tons of non-hazardous and 1.96 tons of WT02 mercury-contaminated soils for off-site disposal. The site achieved No Further Action status following completion of that work. 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 mercury releases at this station originated from industrial metering equipment that was in active service well before 1986 — the period when occurrence-based CGL policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation trail here spans roughly two decades: early-1990s cleanup, multi-round Terrestrial Ecological Evaluations, and a final 2011 soil excavation program, all tied to contamination from pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Northwest Pipeline GP or its predecessors during the operational window when mercury manometers were in use may still be obligated to recover those accumulated remediation 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
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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.
