This property has a documented history as a landfill predating 1986. 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.

Woodwaste disposal operations at this landfill are consistent with pre-1986 activity — decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies incorporated effective pollution exclusions under Washington law. Arsenic leaching from buried woodwaste represents a slow, continuing release of the kind those earlier policies were written to address without restriction. The $409,000 in documented excavation and treatment costs, combined with open-ended annual groundwater monitoring, constitute remediation expenditures that historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during the landfill's operating years may be obligated to fund.

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.