This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

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.

BNSF's predecessor railroads — including Burlington Northern and Great Northern Railway — built and operated rail lines across northeastern Washington beginning in the late 1800s, placing this corridor's operational history firmly within the pre-1986 occurrence-based CGL era. Policies issued to the railroad's operators during those decades of pre-1986 operations carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The diesel remediation costs incurred at this site — investigation, groundwater monitoring, and cleanup to meet MTCA standards — represent expenditures that historical carriers who covered the railroad during that operational window may be obligated to fund.

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.