This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Sholund Family Farm in Battle Ground, Clark County operated with an underground storage tank — likely used to fuel farm equipment — that released petroleum hydrocarbons and lead into the surrounding soil. Cleanup through the Voluntary Cleanup Program involved decommissioning the UST and remediating the impacted soil, successfully resolving the TPH, BTEX, and lead contamination. Ecology issued a No Further Action determination upon completion of those activities. 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.
Lead contamination in the soil at this site is a direct marker of leaded gasoline, which was phased out for motor vehicles before 1986 — establishing that the tank was in active use during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. A farm operation storing and dispensing leaded fuel would have been a routine CGL policyholder during that window. The documented remediation costs incurred to decommission the tank and address the soil contamination may be recoverable from historical carriers whose policies were in force when the releases first occurred.
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.
