This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1958. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Lake Hills Sewage Treatment Plant was constructed between 1956 and 1958 and provided primary sewage treatment on an approximately 18.5-acre site in Redmond until its closure in December 1973, with the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (METRO) operating the facility throughout that period. Contamination — including PCBs, metals, and mercury — is directly attributed to those historical operations, among them lagoons constructed and used from 1965 through 1967. A 1995 Consent Decree initiated a multi-phase remediation that included excavation and off-site disposal of 6,570 cubic yards of contaminated soil and sediment, demolition of structures, mercury remediation, lagoon dewatering, grouting, and extensive wetland and habitat restoration. A no further action determination for soil and groundwater was issued in 1998, and final wetland restoration was completed in 2006. 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.
Sewage treatment operations at this site ran from 1958 through 1973 — entirely before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The PCB, metal, and mercury contamination documented here arose directly from those pre-1986 municipal operations, establishing a clear temporal link between the contamination event and the policies in force at the time. The documented remediation expenditures — removal of 6,570 cubic yards of impacted soil and sediment, mercury-specific treatment, lagoon dewatering, and years of wetland restoration — represent cleanup costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies to METRO and its successors during the facility's operational window 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.
