This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could help fund the cleanup that lies ahead.
This former municipal landfill in Columbia County operated from 1970 to 1983, accepting both municipal and industrial wastes from generators including Boise-Cascade and Owens-Corning. Oregon DEQ issued multiple Notices of Violation between 1980 and 1991 for leachate discharges into adjacent waterways and off-site groundwater contamination. Monitoring has confirmed cyanide, ammonia, metals, and naphthalene in groundwater, naphthalene and pentachlorophenol in surface water at Santosh Slough Barge Canal, and arsenic, barium, copper, and other metals in sediment — with leachate continuing to discharge into wetlands along Scappoose Creek. A cap was placed over the landfill in 2008, but investigation remains active: a 2020 Site Investigation Work Plan added PFAS groundwater sampling, and DEQ updated the site record as recently as February 2026. That history could support an insurance coverage claim against the carriers who issued policies more than 40 years ago — coverage that could help fund the cleanup ahead.
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 Oregon — and those policies may provide coverage that remains enforceable today. 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.
Contamination at this property originated from landfill operations that ran from 1970 to 1983, when operators and industrial waste generators accepted both municipal and industrial wastes entirely within the pre-1986 period. The investigation and monitoring costs this property still faces — including PFAS groundwater assessment, ongoing sampling, and potential remediation of multi-media contamination affecting ecologically sensitive wetlands along Scappoose Creek — are future obligations that historical pre-1986 carriers whose policies were in effect during the landfill's operating years may be obligated to fund going forward.
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
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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.