This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This Yakima County property served as a storage and staging area for adjacent orchard operations, where smudge pots (orchard heaters) and associated diesel fuel were kept to protect crops from frost. Approximately 15 years of diesel fuel overfill and leakage from the stored smudge pots contaminated a roughly 30-by-80-foot area of soil to depths of three to six feet. In 1992, White Shield, Inc. conducted an interim cleanup action consisting of soil excavation and monitoring well installation to prevent further migration to surface and groundwater; a 1994 site visit confirmed successful remediation, and Ecology issued a no further action determination. 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 diesel fuel releases at this site accumulated over roughly 15 years prior to the 1992 cleanup, placing the contamination's origin squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Agricultural and commercial operations of this type routinely held CGL coverage during the pre-1986 window when these releases were occurring. Historical carriers whose policies were in force during that period may be obligated to fund or reimburse the excavation, monitoring, and investigation costs documented in connection with this site.
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.
