This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1948. 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.

Metal plating and chlorinated-solvent operations at this property began in 1948 — nearly four decades before 1986 — when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The contamination documented here, including PCBs in soil and PCE in the subsurface, is directly attributed to those historical industrial activities: spills, sewer-line releases, and routine degreasing during Washington Steel Products' tenure. The site's remediation record — waterway dredging, vapor extraction, large-scale soil removal, and decades of groundwater and sediment monitoring — represents expenditures the historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that operational 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.