This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance 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.

Vehicle maintenance operations at this National Guard facility were established decades before 1986, generating the diesel, oil, solvent, and metals contamination documented in soil and groundwater. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to entities operating the facility during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion and may still respond to the remediation costs incurred to reach the No Further Action milestone. The breadth of contaminants — petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, solvents, and pesticides — reflects sustained industrial-scale operations well within the coverage period of those historical policies.

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.