This property has a documented history as a landfill predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
The SIRTI property in Spokane was operated as a landfill, receiving buried ash fill containing elevated concentrations of lead, cadmium, and mercury — with contaminated fill material extending to approximately 35 feet in depth across more than 100,000 cubic yards of the site. The landfill had no liner or leachate collection system. Documented remediation activities between 1992 and 1994 included capping contaminated ash fill with a geomembrane and clean soil cover and relocating approximately 24,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil to the Milwaukee Trench. The site remains in Awaiting Cleanup status under Washington State's Standard Cleanup program. 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.
Ash fill disposal generating lead, cadmium, and mercury contamination at this scale is characteristic of industrial waste practices that predate 1986 by decades, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Historical CGL policies issued to operators or property owners during that disposal era remain potentially enforceable against those carriers today. The documented costs of geomembrane capping and mass soil relocation — and the cleanup work still ahead — represent expenditures that historical insurers whose policies were in force during the disposal period may be obligated 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 & 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.