This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1954. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Kwik Lok Corporation has manufactured plastic bag closures at this 66,673-square-foot Yakima facility since the company's founding in 1954. Four heating oil underground storage tanks were identified on the property — two formerly removed and two remaining, including at least one decommissioned by sand-filling, a practice predating federal UST regulations. Subsurface investigation revealed diesel-range petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater at concentrations up to 15,000 µg/L — thirty times the MTCA Method A cleanup level — with visible sheen and petroleum odors confirmed during excavation at approximately ten feet below ground surface. Following remedial investigation, subsurface work, and cleanup action completed between 2016 and 2017, Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in March 2018 under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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.
Kwik Lok's continuous manufacturing operations at this site date to 1954 — more than three decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The heating oil tanks that sourced the diesel contamination in groundwater served a facility that operated throughout the pre-1986 CGL era, and policies issued to Kwik Lok during that window likely carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The remediation expenditures incurred to investigate and address the petroleum release — from initial borings through the cleanup action that secured the 2018 No Further Action determination — are costs those historical carriers may be obligated to recover.
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.