This property has a documented history as a facility associated with PFAS-containing materials 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.
PFAS contamination has been confirmed in groundwater beneath this Chippewa Falls property, with multiple compounds exceeding Wisconsin DNR NR 140 enforcement standards — including PFOS at more than three times the enforcement standard and PFHxS at nearly twice the standard. Environmental assessment has identified an adjacent former chrome plating facility as the likely source of the PFAS release, an industry known to use PFAS-containing materials. Sampling across five monitoring wells spanning multiple properties has revealed a widespread groundwater plume that crosses property boundaries, and the site remains an active Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program case with additional groundwater investigation directed. 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.
The PFAS contamination at this site traces to industrial chrome plating operations at an adjacent property that were active well before 1986, releasing PFAS-containing materials that have resulted in a widespread groundwater plume confirmed through sampling across five monitoring wells spanning multiple properties. The additional groundwater investigation, plume delineation, and remediation work directed by the Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program to bring PFAS compounds — including PFOS and PFHxS — below NR 140 enforcement standards represent 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
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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.