This property has a documented history as a facility using PFAS-containing firefighting foam going back to 1946. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
PFAS contamination has been identified in groundwater at the Harrington Lagoon area in Coupeville, with the Coupeville Landfill — an unlined facility that accepted waste from 1946 through 2002 — identified as the primary potential source. A former Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue station (Station 52) on W Morris Rd, within a quarter mile of the affected well, is also identified as a potential source through its historical use of firefighting foam; that facility now operates as a logistics site only and no longer conducts daily firefighting operations. Anticipated cleanup activities include groundwater pumping and filtration and provision of alternative water supplies such as filters or newly drilled wells, with a multi-year process expected and grant funding identified for 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.
Both primary potential PFAS sources at this site — the Coupeville Landfill, which began accepting waste in 1946, and a fire station with decades of firefighting foam use — predate 1986 by a wide margin, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. PFAS contamination of this character — slow, diffuse release from historical landfill disposal and foam application — is precisely what those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. The multi-year groundwater remediation costs now anticipated here, including pumping, filtration systems, and alternative water supply infrastructure, represent the kind of cleanup expenditure that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those pre-1986 operations 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.
