This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1939. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property served as a domestic waste dump before the City of Olympia acquired the parcels in 1939 and 1942, after which the City operated it as a municipal landfill for residential and industrial waste from the mid-1940s until approximately 1968. Environmental investigations beginning in 1984 and a Revised Remedial Investigation completed in 2019 have documented metals contamination in groundwater and surface water, PCBs in surface water, and trichloroethylene (TCE) in groundwater exceeding MTCA cleanup levels in multiple monitoring wells — including off-site downgradient wells. Cleanup is underway through the Voluntary Cleanup Program under Agreed Order No. DE 13797. 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.
Municipal landfill operations at this property ran continuously from the mid-1940s through 1968 — entirely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The metals, PCBs, and TCE now documented in groundwater and surface water originated from waste accepted during that pre-1986 operational window. The remediation costs already incurred and the ongoing cleanup obligations at this site represent expenditures the City's 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.