This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1974. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was developed in 1974 by Roberts Consolidated Industries to formulate wood treatment products, with operations centered on receiving raw materials and mixing, packaging, and storing wood-treating solutions. Numerous spills of those solutions — including pentachlorophenol (PCP) — occurred between 1980 and 1985, and operations ceased entirely in March 1986. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included removal of multiple underground storage tanks, excavation and off-site disposal of 104 tons of contaminated soil and debris, removal of contaminated catchbasin sediments, decommissioning of remaining USTs in place, installation of an asphalt cap over residual impacted soil, and ongoing groundwater monitoring under institutional controls. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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.
All contamination at this property originated from wood-treating chemical operations that ran exclusively from 1974 through March 1986 — entirely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs here — management of thirteen 10,000-gallon USTs, excavation of over 100 tons of contaminated soil, catchbasin sediment removal, and long-term groundwater monitoring obligations — represent expenditures traceable directly to those pre-1986 spill events. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Roberts Consolidated Industries during that operational window may still be obligated to fund those incurred and ongoing costs.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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.
