This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1975. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

The contamination here is attributable to unlined waste disposal operations that began in 1975 — more than a decade before occurrence-based CGL policies were replaced by forms carrying effective pollution exclusions. Washington carriers that issued liability policies to the landfill's operators during that pre-1986 window may still be obligated to respond to the documented remediation costs: closure capping, gas extraction infrastructure, and years of environmental monitoring. Because Ecology has directly attributed the release to the closed landfill's historical operations, the pre-1986 policy period is squarely implicated for both costs already incurred and the remediation work that remains 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.