This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1890. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the multi-phase investigation and remediation work ahead under Wisconsin DNR oversight.
This property has been in industrial use since at least the late 1800s, serving first as a railroad yard through the 1960s, with coal storage and steel oil tank operations on the adjoining property from 1907 through the 1950s, followed by metal fabrication and ventilation duct manufacturing from 1963 through the late 1980s. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — including benzo(a)pyrene, chrysene, naphthalene, and benzo(b)fluoranthene — have been confirmed in soil at concentrations exceeding soil-to-groundwater residual contaminant levels, and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) has also been detected in soil. Groundwater monitoring has confirmed benzo(a)pyrene at concentrations exceeding the Wisconsin NR 140 Preventive Action Limit, with groundwater flow directed west toward the Fox River. The site is an active Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program case with investigation and remediation work ongoing. 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 railroad yard use from the late 1800s through the 1960s, coal storage and steel oil tank operations from 1907 through the 1950s, and metal fabrication and duct manufacturing from 1963 onward — were introducing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and solvent contamination into soil and groundwater for decades before 1986. The ongoing site investigation, groundwater monitoring, and remediation work ahead under the Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program represent future costs that the pre-1986 carriers for the businesses that operated here 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.