This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation going back to 1960. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This 34-acre property has operated as The Ostrom Farms mushroom farm since the 1960s, encompassing commercial mushroom production and compost manufacturing. Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination from an on-site fueling area and chlorinated pesticides consistent with agricultural operations prompted enrollment in the Voluntary Cleanup Program, with project activity spanning from 2007 through 2015. Remediation included multiple soil excavations in 2008 and 2012 to remove petroleum-contaminated soil and associated debris, along with stormwater pond improvements in 2012. The site has received a No Further Action determination and remains in active commercial use as a mushroom farm. 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.
Petroleum releases from the fueling area and pesticide contamination at this property trace back to agricultural operations that began more than two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs — repeated soil excavations, debris removal, and stormwater infrastructure improvements over an eight-year cleanup program — were incurred to address contamination rooted in those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the farm's early operational decades may still be obligated to recover those cleanup expenditures.
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.
