State environmental agencies continue to discover long-hidden contamination caused by companies around the country. Contamination may turn up after dredging activities, groundwater sampling or construction of new buildings on redeveloped sites. When these discoveries are made, state environmental agencies search for the source of pollution. In recent years, that research has led government agencies to target energy utilities and other companies as the source of contamination, going back decades or even centuries.
I recently addressed the possibility that ancient insurance policies could help to offset the cost of coverage for significant environmental contamination liability in an article published in Public Utilities Fortnightly. In the article, entitled, Environmental Contamination: Old Insurance policies Could be Worth Their Weight in Gold, I take the reader through the maze of historical insurance policies and how they have been interpreted by courts. In many cases, insurance coverage can be found in old policies often purchased long after the contamination was first initiated.
To read Environmental Contamination: Old Insurance Policies Could Be Worth Their Weight in Gold published in Public Utilities Fortnightly click here.