This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1900. 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 contamination at this site — creosote, PCBs, and lead — originates from industrial operations that began in the early twentieth century and continued through the 1980s, spanning the entire period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The remediation expenditures already documented — over 3,500 combined tons of contaminated soil excavated and treated, structures demolished, vaults pumped, and more than two decades of investigation — and a projected $12.2 million in future cleanup costs are tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to operators at this property during that window may be obligated both to recover past expenditures and to fund the significant remediation work that remains ahead.

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.