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 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 at this property traces directly to industrial practices conducted from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s — a period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation record here spans two separate VCP projects: a prior multi-year effort that reached No Further Action in 2021 and a current cleanup addressing the 2022 release, with costs including fluid recovery, soil excavation, and ongoing investigation. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to Scougal Rubber during that pre-1986 operational window may be obligated both to recover expenditures already incurred and to fund the cleanup work still ahead.

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.