This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

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.

Lead contamination in the soil and groundwater here is directly associated with leaded gasoline dispensed from the motor pool's underground storage tanks — a fuel product phased out by the mid-1980s, confirming that the contaminating operations were well underway before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies in effect during those pre-1986 fueling operations carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, thermal treatment, years of groundwater monitoring, and institutional controls still subject to periodic review — represent costs that historical carriers who covered the facility during that window may be obligated to reimburse.

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.