This property has a documented history as a facility using PFAS-containing firefighting foam predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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 succession of industrial tenants at the source hangar and its association with a separate trichloroethylene cleanup site suggest the facility and its fire suppression infrastructure may have been operational before 1986, though available documents do not confirm a specific pre-1986 installation date. If the fire suppression system was in place during that period, occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the facility's operators would have been written without effective pollution exclusions — and the PFAS contamination now documented in Big Gulch Creek's wetlands could represent a covered occurrence. The cleanup costs this site will incur under the Voluntary Cleanup Program may be recoverable from historical carriers whose policies coincided with the facility's early operations.

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.