This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1950. 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.

Contamination at this landfill — PCBs, heavy metals, petroleum products, PAHs, pesticides, and solvents — originated from more than two decades of waste disposal operations that ended well before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators and the county during that 1950–1973 operational window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable in Washington. The remediation costs documented through the Consent Decree — investigation, monitoring, and cleanup of groundwater and surface water exceedances across multiple contaminant classes — 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.