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.
Mark III Logging operated at this Longview industrial property with underground fuel storage tanks that were decommissioned in December 1991. Excavation of contaminated soil followed, with stockpiling and aeration continuing through 1995 to address petroleum releases from the former USTs. Groundwater monitoring confirmed diesel-range TPH contamination, with concentrations in monitoring well MW-2R reaching 2,200 µg/L — more than four times the MTCA Method A cleanup level of 500 µg/L. The site has since achieved No Further Action status under Washington's 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.
The underground fuel storage tanks removed from this property in 1991 were, by standard tank lifecycle assumptions, very likely installed in the late 1960s to 1970s — well before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based Commercial General Liability coverage. Carriers who issued CGL policies to operators of this facility during that pre-1986 window did so without an effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The documented remediation expenditures here — UST decommissioning, four years of soil excavation and treatment, and long-term groundwater monitoring — represent costs those historical policies may be obligated to cover.
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.