This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property at Vancouver Aerodrome housed an airplane painting and paint-stripping operation run by tenant Aerowest, confirmed active as of November 1980. Paint stripper containing chlorinated hydrocarbons and phenolics was used in the facility, with waste from stripping operations discharged into interior sumps and floor drains that fed subsurface soils and exterior drywells. Remediation included removal of those sumps and drywells, two underground storage tanks totaling 10,000 gallons of capacity, two aviation fuel tanks, and waste drums, along with soil excavation, backfilling, soil gas surveys, extensive multi-year groundwater monitoring, and a comprehensive Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study; the site has since received a No Further Action determination. 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 contamination at this property — PCE, TCE, phenols, and chlorinated solvents — originated from paint-stripping and waste disposal practices that were ongoing at least six years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies had no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation trail — drywell and sump removals, tank extractions, soil excavation, years of groundwater monitoring, and a full RI/FS — represents substantial cleanup expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Aerowest or the property owner during that operational window may remain obligated to recover those costs.
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.
