This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1947. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
The Lake Stevens Landfill is a 27-acre closed mixed municipal landfill in Snohomish County that began operations in 1947; the county took control of the dumpsite in the 1950s, formally organized landfill operations under the Solid Waste Division of the Snohomish County Department of Public Works in 1972, and closed the facility in 1980 when contamination was identified. Remediation has included construction of an impervious soil cap, a leachate collection system that transported 2.7 million gallons of leachate for offsite treatment in 2011 alone, an excavated intercept ditch, and a landfill gas flare system. Neighboring residents were also provided with a public water system extension, and active groundwater monitoring remains ongoing. 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 contamination at Lake Stevens Landfill — leachate and landfill gas generated by more than three decades of mixed municipal waste disposal — originated from operations that ran continuously from 1947 through 1980, entirely within the window when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. An EPA Preliminary Assessment finalized in 1985 confirmed the contamination profile before 1986, and the scale of documented remediation expenditures — capping, leachate collection and offsite treatment, gas flare infrastructure, water system extension to affected neighbors, and long-term groundwater monitoring — reflects the magnitude of liability tied to that pre-1986 operational period. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the county or landfill operators during those decades may still be obligated to recover those costs.
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.