This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the ongoing and future cleanup under Oregon DEQ oversight.
This 126-acre industrial property in Benton County has been used for plywood manufacturing since approximately 1950, when Georgia-Pacific began operations that included a fire water reservoir and sewage lagoon, followed by Plywood Products Company in 1958 and Boise Cascade in 1973. Early plywood operations used pentachlorophenol (PCP) containing dioxins, resulting in confirmed contamination of groundwater, sediment, and surface water — including Soap Creek, the fire pond, and the former sewage lagoon. A 1991 No Further Action determination was effectively rescinded after dioxins and furans were discovered in soil and sediments that had not been evaluated, and Boise Cascade resumed investigation in 2018 under Oregon DEQ oversight. The site is designated both a Brownfield and a High Priority Enforcement Site, with Boise Cascade and Georgia-Pacific joined under a cost recovery letter agreement and an assigned DEQ project manager directing ongoing work. 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 — dioxins, furans, and PCP — traces directly to plywood manufacturing operations that began around 1950 and continued for decades before 1986. With Oregon DEQ classifying this as a High Priority Enforcement Site and directing active investigation and remediation across multiple impacted media, the ongoing and future cleanup costs represent a substantial obligation that historical pre-1986 carriers may be required 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.
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
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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.