This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1943. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
The Head of Bay site operated as a large mixed municipal landfill from 1943 to 1950, receiving waste from the City of Bremerton, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and rural garbage collection services. The only documented cleanup measure to date is the historical placement of a log boom to control the spread of buoyant material from the landfill into adjacent waters. No active remediation has commenced, and the site remains in the Awaiting Cleanup phase under Standard Cleanup. 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.
Landfill operations at this site concluded in 1950 — more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. Waste deposited during that operational window by the City of Bremerton, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and rural collection services is the attributed source of the contamination now requiring remediation. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to any of the responsible depositing parties during the 1943–1950 period may be obligated to fund the cleanup costs that lie 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.
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.
