This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1940. 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.

The industrial waste disposal practices documented here — chlorinated solvents and other hazardous chemicals discarded on the ground — span operational periods from before 1945 through at least the late 1970s, predating by decades the point at which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began carrying effective pollution exclusions. Contractors and operators working at the facility during that pre-1986 window may have carried CGL policies whose occurrence-based triggers attach directly to the contamination events the 1991 Enforcement Order was written to address. The multi-phase remediation program — investigation, feasibility study, design, construction, and ongoing monitoring — represents the class of documented cleanup expenditure those historical policies were designed to cover.

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.