This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1980. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
Olivine Corporation operated a solid waste incinerator at this Bellingham property from the early 1980s, burning approximately 50 tons of municipal solid waste per day and disposing of the resulting ash in two on-site landfill cells — cell no. 1 until the mid-1980s and cell no. 2 until 1989. Lead and cadmium contamination from that ash disposal prompted soil excavation in 1998 (50 tons removed) and again in 2018, capping of an ash landfill cell in 1993, and installation of a leachate collection and on-site treatment system that has processed over 8,000 gallons of wastewater. Groundwater and landfill gas monitoring has been ongoing since at least 1987, and the site remains in the Awaiting Cleanup phase under Washington Ecology's Standard Cleanup program. 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.
Lead and cadmium contamination at this property traces directly to incinerator ash disposal operations that were underway before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The remediation work still ahead — addressing residual contamination across two ash landfill cells, sustained leachate management, and continued long-term monitoring — represents the type of open-ended, multi-phase environmental liability those historical policies were written to fund. Carriers who issued CGL coverage during the incinerator's pre-1986 operating window may be obligated to pay for the cleanup that remains.
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.
