This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property served as an illegal municipal waste dump from the 1970s through the 1980s — and possibly as early as the 1960s — when a past owner used the stream bank for personal disposal and allowed others to dump there for a fee. Waste was deposited directly into and along the banks of Dee Creek, a Class IV year-round stream that flows through the property to Sinclair Inlet. An initial investigation in 2004 identified suspected contamination in surface water including priority pollutant metals, petroleum products, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Cleanup activities began in August 2003 under the Standard Cleanup program, but the site remains in Awaiting Cleanup status with further remediation yet to be undertaken. 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.
Illegal waste disposal at this property began during the 1970s — more than a decade before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still broadly covered pollution liabilities without the absolute exclusions that became standard afterward. The contamination now suspected in Dee Creek's surface water — priority pollutant metals, petroleum products, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — traces to dumping operations conducted during that pre-1986 policy window. The investigation, remediation design, and cleanup costs the property now faces could plausibly fall within the coverage obligations of historical CGL carriers whose policies were in force during the years waste was actively deposited on the stream bank.
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.