This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1971. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has operated as the Plantation Rifle Range under Whatcom County Parks & Recreation since 1971, encompassing an outdoor high-power rifle range and indoor and outdoor small-bore rifle and pistol facilities in continuous use for over five decades. Decades of shooting activity deposited lead and heavy metals from spent ammunition and abandoned projectiles into the soil; contamination has migrated into a nearby creek, including through flooding that transported accumulated materials off-site. Cleanup is proceeding under a RCRA Corrective Action plan that includes DWMU closure, an interim action targeting surface lead hot spots, and a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study. 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 heavy-metal contamination at this site originated from shooting-range operations that began in 1971 — fifteen years before the 1986 threshold after which pollution exclusions became standard in Commercial General Liability policies. Occurrence-based CGL policies in force during those early decades of county operation had no effective pollution exclusion and remain potentially enforceable today. The remediation costs now accumulating — hot spot removal, DWMU closure, and a full RI/FS under RCRA Corrective Action — are directly traceable to contamination that built up during that pre-1986 window, making historical carriers a plausible source of cost recovery.
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 & 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.
