This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1962. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the ongoing and future cleanup under Oregon DEQ oversight.
This property operated as a dry-cleaning facility from approximately 1962 to 1979, releasing tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) into soil and groundwater during nearly two decades of solvent use. An off-site groundwater plume has migrated beneath part of downtown Lebanon, with PCE concentrations reaching 980 ppb in monitoring wells and 58,000 ppb in soil near the Lebanon-Santiam Canal — a municipal drinking water source. Oregon DEQ escalated the site from a Voluntary Cleanup Agreement to its Site Response Program in 2001 and secured a Consent Order in January 2003, and the site remains in the Remedial Investigation stage with no Record of Decision yet issued. 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 chlorinated solvent contamination at this property originated from dry-cleaning operations that began in approximately 1962 and ceased in 1979, placing the entire history of solvent release well before 1986. The remedial investigation, risk evaluation, and remedial action design still ahead — along with whatever long-term groundwater remediation and monitoring Oregon DEQ ultimately requires — represent substantial future cost obligations that historical pre-1986 carriers whose policies were in effect during those operational years may be obligated 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.