This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility predating 1986. 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 operated as a waste incineration and disposal facility during the mid-twentieth century, with operations continuing through the 1970s and 1980s. Boring logs reveal extensive fill material containing cinders, glass, and rubble throughout the upper soil layers, and laboratory analysis has confirmed heavy metals — including arsenic at up to 108 mg/kg, lead at up to 2,090 mg/kg, and chromium at up to 278 mg/kg — along with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at extremely elevated concentrations and chlorinated solvents (PCE and TCE) in the fill. Groundwater contamination has been confirmed, and the shallow water table sits in direct contact with contaminated fill at depths of four to eight feet. 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.
Waste incineration and disposal operations at this property spanned from the mid-twentieth century through the 1970s and 1980s, placing decades of contaminating activity before 1986. The active Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program case requires continued site investigation, remediation of heavy metals, PAHs, and chlorinated solvents found throughout the fill and in groundwater, and long-term groundwater monitoring — future costs that CGL 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
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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.