This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1931. 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.

The 1977 Bunker C release — explicitly cited in site documents as a source still driving the RI/FS-scoped contamination — occurred when occurrence-based CGL policies were the coverage standard for municipal utility operators, and the pre-1986 policies in effect at the time of that release carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation record here is substantial: 2,300-plus tons of excavated soil, PCB management programs, and a still-open feasibility study represent documented expenditures tied directly to that operational history. Historical carriers whose policies were in force during the decades spanning the 1977 release and the plant's broader pre-1986 operations may be obligated both to recover those costs and to fund the cleanup work that remains.

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.