This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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 ATF contamination here traces directly to a storage tank that was part of the bus barn's original infrastructure when the facility was built in the mid-1980s — a construction window that spans years before 1986, when CGL policies issued to operators like STA did not carry effective pollution exclusions. The remediation costs already incurred at this property — tank excavation and removal, impacted soil capping, covenant establishment — represent expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those pre-1986 years of operation may be obligated to recover. The multi-year groundwater monitoring program and annual cap inspections that remain ahead add a continuing forward obligation to that same historical exposure.

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.