This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1936. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could help fund the multi-phase investigation and remediation work ahead under Wisconsin DNR oversight.
This property has been in continuous heavy industrial use since at least 1936, with drop forging, machining, and steel-making operations documented by Sanborn fire insurance maps and city directories spanning decades. A 1950 Sanborn map identifies an oil room and cyanide pots within the machine shop complex, and underground storage tanks holding diesel and gasoline were installed and later removed in 1977 and 1985. Chlorinated solvents — including trichloroethylene (TCE), cis-1,2-dichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride — have been confirmed in groundwater from long-term industrial degreasing operations, alongside arsenic, barium, and multiple polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exceeding Wisconsin NR 140 standards in monitoring wells sampled during the 2025 Phase II investigation. Contamination has migrated across property boundaries, TCE vapor intrusion has been detected above residential screening levels, and groundwater flows toward the Fox River along the eastern property boundary. That history could support an insurance coverage claim against the carriers who issued policies more than 40 years ago — coverage that could help fund the cleanup ahead.
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 Wisconsin — and those policies may provide coverage that remains enforceable today. 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.
Industrial operations at this property — including drop forging, machining, steel making, and chlorinated-solvent degreasing — have been continuous since at least 1936, with underground storage tanks holding diesel and gasoline installed and later removed in 1977 and 1985, placing five decades of contaminating activity squarely within the pre-1986 window. The work ahead — continued groundwater investigation to delineate chlorinated-solvent and metals plumes exceeding NR 140 standards, vapor intrusion mitigation in areas where TCE has been detected above residential screening levels, remediation of co-mingled contamination across multiple release areas, and long-term monitoring under the Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program — represents substantial future costs that Commercial General Liability carriers insuring the businesses that operated here before 1986 may be obligated to fund.
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
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.