This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) has been confirmed in groundwater at this Olympia property above state cleanup levels, with site investigators speculating that a former dry cleaning facility previously located at the northwest end of the property — and an associated former septic tank — are the likely sources. Investigation activities included a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment in 2008 and a follow-up soil and groundwater characterization study in 2010, involving five soil borings and four groundwater monitoring wells. The site operated under the Voluntary Cleanup Program from 2010 to 2015, incurring costs for Ecology technical consultations, with recommendations made for future multi-year groundwater monitoring and evaluation of cleanup alternatives; no active cleanup has yet commenced. 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 PCE contamination documented at this property is the fingerprint of dry cleaning operations that predate 1986 — the year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. Historical operators of a dry cleaning facility using PCE would have carried pre-1986 CGL policies written to cover exactly this type of slow, subsurface contamination event. With cleanup alternatives still under evaluation and long-term groundwater monitoring ahead, the expenditures the current property owner faces may be recoverable from carriers whose occurrence-based policies were in force when that contamination first occurred.
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.
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.
