This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1917. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
Fort Lewis, a U.S. Army installation operating since 1917, has multiple contaminated areas of concern tied to underground storage tanks totaling 116,800 gallons of capacity that were removed between 1990 and 1998, along with associated contaminated soil excavation at each AOC. Active remediation has continued well beyond those removals: a combination air sparge and soil vapor extraction system has been operating since 2010 and 2013, groundwater monitoring has been ongoing across various AOCs since as early as 1993, and purge water from monitoring wells is managed through pump-and-treat disposal. Cleanup at the I-5 Corridor remains in progress. 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.
Applying a standard 25-year service lifecycle to the tanks removed between 1990 and 1998 places their installation between 1965 and 1973 — well within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The base reported hazardous waste activity as early as 1980, and documented lead contamination further confirms releases originating from pre-1986 operations. Three decades of remediation expenditures — UST removals, soil excavation, vapor extraction, and continuous groundwater monitoring — are traceable to that pre-1986 operational window, and historical carriers who issued CGL coverage during those years may remain obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund ongoing and future cleanup.
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.
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.
