This property has a documented history as a landfill predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as a slag material landfill operated by Northwest Slag Products — a 1978 letter confirms the fill was nearly complete by that date, and a 1985 Ecology letter and aerial photograph place continued activity at the site through that decade. Diesel was applied during slag pulverization for dust control, introducing petroleum contamination alongside the slag fill itself. Environmental assessment running from at least 1989 to 2001 — including test pit excavation by GeoEngineers and Earth Consultants Inc. and natural attenuation of groundwater on an adjacent property — established the extent of contamination, and the site has since reached No Further Action status under the Voluntary 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.
The diesel application and slag fill operations at this property were underway years before 1986, documented by correspondence dating to 1978 and confirmed by Ecology records and aerial photography from 1985. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to the historical operators during that window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. The investigation and review costs incurred between 1989 and 2001 to address that contamination represent expenditures tied directly to the pre-1986 operating era — costs that historical carriers may still be obligated to recover.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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.
