This property has a documented history as a landfill predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the cleanup that lies ahead.
Marlsan Landfill is a municipal landfill in Josephine County where volatile organic compounds — including tetrachloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), vinyl chloride, and 1,4-dichlorobenzene — have been confirmed in groundwater across 32 monitoring locations, including 20 domestic water wells, with at least one residence placed on bottled water due to elevated vinyl chloride. Josephine County entered into a Voluntary Cleanup Agreement with Oregon DEQ in 1999, committing to a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study under EPA's Presumptive Remedy framework for municipal landfills. Landfill cover construction was underway as of 2005, but no final closure documentation or No Further Action determination has been issued, and the site remains listed on the Confirmed Release List with DEQ activity as recent as November 2025. 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.
The chlorinated solvent contamination in groundwater beneath and around this landfill originated from municipal disposal operations that predate 1986. The substantial costs this property still faces — including completion of the feasibility study, remediation of impacted domestic water supplies, final closure, and long-term groundwater monitoring — are precisely the type of future obligations that historical pre-1986 carriers may be required to fund.
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.