This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1896. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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 contamination at this property originates from more than eight decades of heavy industrial activity — pulp manufacturing, sawmilling, ship building, and log handling — that began roughly ninety years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation already completed, and future cost estimates reaching as high as $508 million, reflect a liability trail tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to the operators across those decades of active milling and pulp production may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the substantial remediation work that remains ahead.

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.