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 Bow Lake Landfill operated in Tukwila from 1943 into the early 1960s, accepting approximately 160,000 cubic yards of municipal solid waste per year during peak operation; a solid waste transfer station was subsequently constructed on the property in 1961 and upgraded in 1978. Remediation completed to date includes removal of two underground storage tanks (a 600-gallon gasoline tank and a 1,000-gallon diesel tank), excavation of approximately 30 cubic yards of petroleum-affected soil, placement of additional landfill cap material, and stormwater and surface-water diversion improvements carried out between 1984 and 1986. Leachate collection, groundwater monitoring wells, sewer utility line venting, and additional landfill cover and grading have been recommended and budgeted as the next phase of investigation and remediation. 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.
The contamination at this property — leachate, landfill gas, and petroleum hydrocarbons from storage tanks installed around 1970 — traces directly to waste disposal and storage operations that began in 1943, more than four decades before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators and successive owners of this site during those decades carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable today. The leachate management, groundwater monitoring, cap improvements, and further site investigation that lie ahead represent costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the active landfill and transfer-station 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.
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.
