This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1960. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has been in industrial use since at least the early 1960s, beginning as an automotive repair and body shop (Heiser Body Company) before WSDOT acquired the property in 1965 and Herzog Glass was established in 1971. Multiple underground storage tanks served the site over decades — a 2,000-gallon bunker oil tank present since before the 1970s and later converted to diesel, two gasoline USTs totaling 10,000 gallons, and a 500-gallon fuel oil UST — all removed or closed in place between 1991 and 1994. Site investigations have confirmed petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in soil, groundwater contamination including 1,1-dichloroethane at 28 µg/L and chromium at 130 µg/L (both exceeding MTCA cleanup levels), and volatile compounds including benzene and naphthalene in soil vapor. The site has been on Ecology's Confirmed and Suspected Contaminated Sites List since August 1991, and cleanup is underway under the Standard 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.
Petroleum storage and industrial operations at this property date to at least the early 1960s — more than two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims. The confirmed releases of petroleum hydrocarbons, 1,1-dichloroethane, and chromium to soil and groundwater trace directly to those pre-1986 tank installations and industrial uses. With cleanup underway and remediation costs accumulating — tank removals, contaminated soil management, groundwater investigation — historical CGL carriers who covered the property's operators during that pre-1986 window may be obligated both to recover past expenditures and to fund ongoing remediation.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
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.