This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Roadrunner Gas has operated as a gasoline service station in Yakima since the 1970s, dispensing gasoline and diesel fuel through three underground storage tanks. Under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, remediation included excavation and removal of all three USTs and associated contaminated soil in 2008–2009, groundwater treatment using oxygen-releasing compounds in 2010 and in-situ chemical oxidation in 2015, and extensive groundwater monitoring and sampling from 2010 through 2019. The site has reached No Further Action status, with institutional controls and periodic reviews remaining in place. 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.
The underground storage tanks whose releases contaminated soil and groundwater here were installed and operating before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still lacked effective pollution exclusions. The documented remediation costs — UST removals, in-situ chemical oxidation, years of groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases directly attributable to those pre-1986 operations. Historical insurers who issued CGL policies to the station's operators during that era may retain obligations for the expenditures made to achieve No Further Action at this site.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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.
