This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1907. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Riverside Sawmill operated continuously from 1907 to 1984 along the river in Everett, with the facility demolished in 1986. Sawmill operations left pentachlorophenol, petroleum hydrocarbons, and PCBs in groundwater at concentrations above MTCA screening levels. Remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included 15 months of groundwater pumping and treatment, which brought PCB and TPH concentrations below cleanup levels. The site has received a No Further Action determination from Ecology. 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 Riverside Sawmill's 77-year operational history — 1907 through 1984 — falls almost entirely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were issued without effective pollution exclusions. Carriers who insured the sawmill's operators across that window may bear obligation for the remediation costs incurred here, including groundwater pumping and treatment to address pentachlorophenol, petroleum hydrocarbon, and PCB contamination. With a No Further Action letter now in hand, those documented cleanup expenditures represent a defined, closed liability that historical policies may be called upon 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.