This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1958. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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 lead and PAH contamination accumulating in Fife Ditch sediments traces directly to operational discharges from a site whose drainage infrastructure was installed between 1958 and 1967 — more than two decades before pollution exclusions became standard in CGL policies. The slow, continuous character of industrial drainage from a wood chip storage yard is precisely the kind of incremental release that occurrence-based policies of that era were written to address. With a $4.9 million remediation estimate now on the table, operators who held CGL coverage during those decades of pre-1986 discharge may bear liability for the costs now materializing.

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.