This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1925. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Food production at this Kennewick property dates to 1925, with Welch's owning and operating a food processing plant at the site from 1953 through December 2006. Bunker fuel underground storage tanks — used to power boilers and industrial processing equipment — leaked fuel oil into soil and groundwater; the tanks were removed in the 1970s. Remediation conducted over an eight-year period under an Agreed Order included UST removal, excavation of 516 cubic yards of contaminated soil, recovery of 2,261 gallons of oil, groundwater purging and disposal, and a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study, culminating in 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 bunker fuel releases at this site originated from tanks that were leaking and removed in the 1970s — decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies remained the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Welch's industrial food processing operations during that pre-1986 window would have been insured under precisely those policies. The documented remediation costs here — tank removal, soil excavation, oil recovery, groundwater purging, and years of monitoring under an Agreed Order — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL coverage during the operational period may still be obligated to recover.
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.
