This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1942. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This landfill operated from 1942 through 1977, with its northern area receiving household wastes and its west transfer station accepting large appliances, car bodies, scrap metal, and assorted junk over that 35-year span. The site has been listed as a Washington State Cleanup Site on the basis of suspected soil and groundwater contamination associated with those historical landfill operations. No active remediation has commenced; the site currently awaits cleanup under the Standard 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 Key Center Landfill accepted waste continuously from 1942 through 1977 — well over three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. The slow, ongoing leachate migration from decades of deposited household waste, scrap metal, and automobile bodies is precisely the contamination profile those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. The full investigation and remediation costs now ahead of this site could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose occurrence-based policies were in force during the landfill's operational years.
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.