This property has a documented history as a facility using PFAS-containing firefighting foam going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
Firefighting training exercises using aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) were conducted at Rainier Trail from the early 1970s through the early 1980s and at Memorial Field from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, at a frequency of approximately once or twice per year with one to three five-gallon buckets of AFFF concentrate expended per event. Those releases deposited PFOS, PFOA, and related PFAS compounds into soil and groundwater, which have since migrated into the local drinking water supply. Remediation is underway through a granular activated carbon (GAC) drinking water treatment system, with the City of Issaquah having spent over $1 million to date; the project remains in the remedial investigation phase, with source identification and removal planned for a future phase. 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.
AFFF training at these sites began in the early 1970s — more than a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions in 1986. Each training event constituted a discrete release of PFAS compounds onto and into the ground, precisely the type of recurring occurrence that pre-1986 CGL policies were written to address. The escalating costs of remediation here — a multi-year GAC treatment program already exceeding $1 million, with a source-removal phase still ahead — represent expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the training window may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
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.
