This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1920. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was part of Simpson Timber Company's Shelton mill operations, where two 13,000-gallon above-ground storage tanks holding Bunker C oil were installed around 1920 and abandoned around 1945. In 1991, petroleum contamination was discovered near the former tank locations during trench digging between the mill building and Goldsborough Creek. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included excavating and disposing of approximately 10 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil off-site and placing clean fill; the site has since been maintained under an Environmental Covenant with quarterly groundwater monitoring, a soil cover, sheet pile wall upkeep, scheduled visual inspections of Goldsborough Creek, and five-year periodic reviews. 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.
The Bunker C oil contamination here traces directly to storage tank operations that began around 1920 — more than six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and had no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs at this site — soil excavation and off-site disposal, long-term groundwater monitoring, Environmental Covenant administration, and perpetual maintenance obligations for the soil cover and sheet pile wall — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Simpson Timber Company during the pre-1986 operational window 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.
