This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property on the Thea Foss Waterway in Tacoma operated historically as Pick's Cove Marine Center and later as Foss Landing Marina & Boat Storage, conducting boat repair, maintenance, and storage in an industrially zoned waterfront area. Lead and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (cPAH) contamination was identified in site investigation reports from 1999, leading to the excavation and off-site disposal of 500 cubic yards (697 tons) of metals-contaminated soils in 2004. The site subsequently received No Further Action status under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, though annual groundwater monitoring continues and the property is subject to institutional controls including a restrictive covenant and an asphalt cap. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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 Washington. 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.
Lead and cPAH are the contamination signatures of pre-1986 waterfront industrial activity — leaded fuel handling and the industrial compounds that accumulated in Thea Foss Waterway soils during decades of boat repair and maintenance at this specific site. The contamination was not documented until 1999, but its origin at Pick's Cove predates that discovery by decades, pointing directly to the era when occurrence-based CGL policies had no effective pollution exclusion. Historical carriers who covered marina operations here before 1986 may be obligated for the remediation already incurred — 697 tons of excavated soil, ongoing groundwater monitoring, and the institutional controls now permanently encumbering this waterfront property.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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 & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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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.
