This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1930. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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.

Waste disposal at this Naval base landfill began in the 1930s, more than four decades before the 1986 threshold after which occurrence-based CGL policies began carrying effective pollution exclusions. The contamination documented in soil, sediment, and groundwater here is the direct result of decades of industrial and domestic waste disposal that predates modern pollution liability frameworks entirely. Remediation expenditures — soil and sediment excavation, phytoremediation, infrastructure upgrades, and multi-year monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the landfill's operational window 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.