This property has a documented history as a landfill 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 primary contaminants at the Alger Dump — cadmium, arsenic, lead, and benzo(b)fluoranthene — are attributed to landfill operations that ran for nearly two decades before the facility closed in 1975, more than a decade before 1986. County and municipal liability policies in force during those operational years were occurrence-based and carried no effective pollution exclusion, leaving historical carriers potentially obligated to fund the cleanup costs the responsible party now faces. The investigation phase is complete; the remediation expenditures ahead represent precisely the category of forward-looking environmental liability that pre-1986 CGL policies may be compelled to cover.

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.