This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1924. 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.

Industrial operations at this property began more than six decades before 1986, spanning coal gasification and metal recycling — both generators of persistent contamination requiring large-scale remediation. The $15 million estimated cleanup cost reflects the scale of liability tied to operations conducted during the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Historical carriers who covered the coal gasification plant or the early decades of the metal recycling operation may bear obligations for remediation expenditures already incurred and for the ongoing monitoring costs that remain.

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.