This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1903. 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.

Over a century of continuous lumber mill operations — from 1903 through 2006 — places the origin of contamination at this site decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies routinely covered pollution-related claims without an effective exclusion. The breadth of contamination here — halogenated solvents, petroleum constituents, arsenic, and heavy metals across both groundwater and surface water — reflects the cumulative impact of industrial operations conducted under policies issued during that pre-1986 window. With cleanup underway and remediation costs still accruing, historical carriers who provided CGL coverage during the mill's long operational history may be obligated both to recover past expenditures and to fund the ongoing work.

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.