This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1897. 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 hosted industrial operations since at least 1897, when fire insurance maps documented an iron foundry, brass foundry, machine shop, boiler works, and lumber saw mill on the site. Subsequent decades brought additional operations including a filling station, streetcar and bus garage, boat manufacturing, tractor and equipment sales, trucking, and concrete pipe manufacturing — along with twelve underground storage tanks removed between 1989 and 1993. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals including lead and selenium have been confirmed in soil and groundwater, with dissolved lead exceeding Wisconsin NR 140 preventive action limits at multiple monitoring wells and contamination extending off-site to an adjacent public bike trail. Wisconsin DNR designated the property a Historical Waste Site in 2017, and active remediation under the Environmental Remediation Program continues, including a barrier cap completed in 2024 and a soil management plan for the affected bike trail property. 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 began more than a century before 1986, spanning foundry work, fuel storage, manufacturing, and heavy equipment operations across nearly every decade of the twentieth century. The ongoing groundwater monitoring, off-site soil management, and continued remediation work under Wisconsin DNR oversight represent future costs that those historical pre-1986 carriers 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.