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.
This property operated as an unpermitted landfill from the 1930s through 1977, accepting construction debris, industrial wastes, and mixed municipal solid waste — including ASARCO slag disposed between 1974 and 1975. Under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, the preferred remedy involves capping landfill material with asphalt and buildings, implementing institutional controls including restrictive covenants and a soil management plan, and conducting long-term groundwater and surface water monitoring. Cleanup activities have spanned from at least 1986 through 2012 and remain ongoing. 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.
Decades of unregulated waste disposal at this site — from the 1930s through 1977 — generated the metals and carcinogenic PAH contamination now driving a multi-decade remediation program. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the landfill operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable in Washington. The documented remediation costs already incurred — site assessment, cleanup design, capping, institutional controls, long-term monitoring — along with future maintenance obligations represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and 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 & 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.
