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.
This industrial property in the Port of Tacoma operated as Northwest Wire Rope & Equipment, an industrial machinery and supply operation, with a US Oil pipeline easement on the property dating to 1962. A 600-gallon gasoline underground storage tank was removed in 1991. A 2018 Phase II Environmental Site Assessment found groundwater contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE), vinyl chloride, cis-1,2-dichloroethylene, and trans-1,2-dichloroethylene at concentrations exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels, along with petroleum hydrocarbons and lead. Vapor intrusion investigations followed in 2019–2020, and the site has since achieved No Further Action status under the 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 gasoline UST removed from this property in 1991 — consistent with installation well before 1986 under standard tank-lifecycle expectations — places the facility's fueling infrastructure squarely in the era of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability coverage, when pollution exclusions were not yet standard in Washington. The contamination trail documented here — chlorinated solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, lead, and vinyl chloride across soil, air, and groundwater — generated investigation, monitoring, and remediation costs through the Voluntary Cleanup Program that historical CGL carriers from the pre-1986 operational period 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.