This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1951. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

Contamination at the Skirving Dump is directly attributable to landfill operations that began in 1951 — more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The disposal of municipal solid waste, demolition debris, and coal tar sludge over a roughly thirty-year period represents precisely the kind of slow, ongoing contamination those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. With active cleanup not yet commenced, the costs of investigation, remediation design, and eventual site restoration remain ahead — expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the dump's operating years 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.