This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1962. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations 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 at Glacier Recycle traces directly to industrial and waste-handling operations stretching from the 1960s through the early 1980s — decades before 1986 — with USTs installed around 1970 and a documented history of compliance issues tied to those historical operations. The 1995 UST removal and 90 cubic yards of soil excavation represent real remediation expenditures already incurred that are recoverable from carriers whose occurrence-based CGL policies were in force during that pre-1986 operational window. The ongoing Remedial Investigation, quarterly groundwater monitoring, and future remediation work Ecology has prescribed represent additional costs those same historical carriers may be obligated to fund going forward.

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.