This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1919. 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.

The Abitibi mill began newsprint production in 1919, more than six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. CGL policies issued to the mill's successive operators during that extended pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain potentially enforceable. The confirmed petroleum, asbestos, and arsenic contamination in groundwater, along with Ecology's recommended further delineation work, represents remediation expenditures that historical carriers who insured the facility during its 67 years of pre-1986 operations 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.