This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1958. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
The Olalla Landfill began operations in the late 1950s in an old gravel pit in southern Kitsap County, initially using a burn-and-cover method before transitioning to conventional disposal of mixed municipal solid waste and an estimated 300,000 gallons of septic sludge. Kitsap County Public Works assumed continuous operation by late 1971, open burning ceased in the early 1970s, and a transfer station became operational in 1985; a formal closure plan was prepared in early 1986 and the landfill was closed and capped in 1989. Post-closure measures have included installation of a passive gas collection and flaring system and groundwater monitoring conducted from at least 1992 through 2014 as part of an ongoing Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study, with vinyl chloride and arsenic detected routinely throughout that period. 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.
Landfill operations at this site began more than two decades before 1986, the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard in Washington and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The vinyl chloride and arsenic contamination documented in groundwater here is directly linked to those decades of municipal solid waste and septic sludge disposal — a slow, continuous release pattern that falls squarely within the coverage scope those pre-1986 policies were written to address. With the site still awaiting active cleanup, the investigation, design, and remediation costs now facing the responsible parties could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force during the landfill's operational decades.
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.
