This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the ongoing and future cleanup under Oregon DEQ oversight.

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 PCB contamination at this property traces to industrial operations well before 1986, since PCBs were banned under TSCA in 1979, and the additional contaminants — petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, and metals — are consistent with decades of manufacturing activity at this site during the same era. The investigation, remediation, and long-term monitoring costs this property still faces — including the groundwater delineation Oregon DEQ has ordered and the treatment-in-place program the City is planning — represent a substantial ongoing and future obligation that historical pre-1986 CGL 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.