This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1937. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations 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 contamination here — mining tailings and mill waste deposited across soil, groundwater, and river sediment — originated from industrial ore-processing operations that concluded nearly half a century before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies had no effective pollution exclusion. Carriers who issued policies to the mill's operators during that pre-1986 window may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred in investigation and feasibility analysis and to fund the substantial remediation work ahead, including excavation, riverbank stabilization, and open-ended environmental monitoring.

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.