This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1953. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This McChord Air Force Base cleanup encompasses two related sub-sites: IRP Site WP-61, the Entomology Shop (Building 587) within the Civil Engineering yard, which is documented as operating from 1953 through 1960, and IRP Site WP-64, a drywell associated with pesticide disposal activities from that shop, which was decommissioned and inactive by 1993. Chlordane contamination from those disposal activities required excavation of the drywell and surrounding soil — 10 cubic yards and 11 drums of waste removed, transported, and disposed offsite — along with backfilling and paving. The site has reached No Further Action status under a regime of long-term groundwater monitoring, monitored natural attenuation, and institutional controls. 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.
The Entomology Shop at WP-61 is explicitly documented as operating from 1953 through 1960, a period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies covered pollution claims without the exclusions that became standard after 1986. Because WP-64's drywell was directly associated with disposal activities from that same Entomology Shop, chlordane releases attributable to the pre-1986 operational period fall within the coverage window of CGL policies issued during those years. The documented remediation costs — drywell and soil excavation, offsite disposal of 11 drums of waste, and ongoing groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the Entomology Shop's operational years may be obligated to address.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
