This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1966. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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.

The 1966 oil pit plan and 1977 drainage redesign place Puget Power's substation operations — and the transformer oil infrastructure that produced the contamination — squarely within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies were standard for utilities. Carriers who insured Puget Power during those decades of documented equipment use may bear obligation for the remediation costs that followed: tank and drain-line removal, hundreds of cubic yards of soil excavation, secondary containment installation, and over a decade of groundwater monitoring. With cleanup still underway, those same policy periods could apply to future remediation expenditures as well.

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.