This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1921. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the ongoing and future cleanup under Oregon DEQ oversight.
This 840-acre former naval facility was established as a submarine and destroyer base in 1921 and remained operational through 1962, generating contamination from a 1941 landfill used for ship maintenance waste and solvents, a fire training area with solvent releases, and extensive fuel infrastructure including underground storage tanks and more than 9,000 feet of piping. Groundwater sampling has confirmed heavy metals and PCBs above drinking water standards, light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) in groundwater, and surface water seepage from the landfill into Cathlamet Bay carrying heavy metals above Federal Ambient Water Quality Criteria. Oregon DEQ and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are managing the cleanup under a 2004 DSMOA agreement, with the landfill under long-term operation and maintenance and a 2023 Five-Year Review deferring protectiveness determinations pending confirmatory sampling by September 2027 — while Phase II petroleum investigation of the UST areas and thousands of feet of uninvestigated piping remains ahead. That history could support an insurance coverage claim against the carriers who issued policies more than 40 years ago — coverage that could help fund the cleanup ahead.
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 Oregon — and those policies may provide coverage that remains enforceable today. 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 contamination at this property originated from naval operations that ran from 1921 through 1962 — including a 1941 landfill for ship maintenance waste and solvents, a fire training area, and extensive fuel infrastructure with underground storage tanks and more than 9,000 feet of piping — all decades before 1986. The long-term landfill operation and maintenance, confirmatory sampling required by September 2027, and the Phase II petroleum investigation of underground storage tank areas and uninvestigated piping still ahead represent substantial cleanup costs going forward that pre-1986 CGL carriers whose policies were in effect during those decades of naval operations may be obligated to fund.
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.
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
The Restorical Proven Process
Stay up to date on environmental property cleanup laws and changes.
Report Email Updates
Request more information on this property
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.