This industrial property operated as an Oroweat bakery facility in Washington County and has been under Oregon DEQ scrutiny since a 1993 Further Action Letter identified chlorinated solvents in groundwater during site investigation. While a 2008 No Further Action determination resolved petroleum releases from the property's underground storage tank system, the chlorinated solvent contamination in groundwater remains unresolved under the DEQ Cleanup program. Oregon DEQ has recommended continued groundwater monitoring and further investigation to determine the source and extent of the chlorinated solvent plume, and the site was placed on the Confirmed Release List with no cleanup completion documented. 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.
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.
Chlorinated solvent contamination at this Washington County bakery facility traces to industrial operations conducted well before 1986, with Oregon DEQ's 1993 Further Action Letter first identifying solvent-impacted groundwater and the site remaining on the Confirmed Release List without cleanup completion more than three decades later. The continued groundwater monitoring, further source and extent investigation, and remediation costs this property still faces for the unresolved chlorinated solvent plume are precisely the type of future obligations that historical pre-1986 carriers 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.
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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.