This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This Pierce County property was historically used to produce chemically-treated wood — specifically for construction and maintenance of the White River flume — using pentachlorophenol (PCP), arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs). Remedial action under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, completed between September 2000 and April 2001, included extensive soil excavation for off-site disposal and on-site containment under asphalt, soil, and liner caps. The site has since reached No Further Action status, though annual groundwater compliance monitoring, purge water management, and a recorded restrictive covenant remain in place. 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.
Pentachlorophenol, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — the specific compounds applied to wood at this site — were standard industrial wood treatment chemicals during Puget Sound Energy's operations here, well before 1986. CGL policies issued to wood treatment operators during that operational window were occurrence-based and, in Washington, lacked effective pollution exclusions for exactly the kind of slow, soil-and-groundwater contamination these compounds produce. The documented remediation costs at this property — soil excavation, engineered capping systems, and ongoing annual groundwater monitoring under a restrictive covenant — represent expenditures that historical carriers whose policies covered these wood treatment operations may still be obligated to fund.
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.
