This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1875. 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 operated as a meat processing and packaging facility since 1875, with fire insurance maps from 1914, 1925, and 1949 documenting tank farms and industrial infrastructure along the eastern boundary. At least four aboveground tank farms and multiple underground storage tanks — including 13 tanks holding leaded and unleaded gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil — were present on-site, and a 1,500-gallon bare steel fuel oil UST remains in place. Site investigations have confirmed groundwater contamination exceeding Wisconsin DNR NR 140 enforcement standards for naphthalene, benzene, tetrachloroethylene (PCE), chrysene, dissolved arsenic, and dissolved lead across multiple monitoring wells, with 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA) also detected in soil. Groundwater flows south and southwest toward the Rock River, which borders the property on three sides, and a site investigation workplan was approved in November 2025 under the Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program. 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 meat processing and tank farm operations at this property date to 1875 and continued through the mid-1980s, with fire insurance maps from 1914, 1925, and 1949 documenting aboveground tank farms and industrial infrastructure, and at least thirteen underground storage tanks holding petroleum products installed during decades of activity that predates 1986. The ongoing site investigation approved under the Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program, the multi-contaminant groundwater monitoring well network addressing exceedances of NR 140 enforcement standards for benzene, naphthalene, tetrachloroethylene, and dissolved metals, and the remediation work still ahead represent substantial future cost obligations that historical 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
The Restorical Proven Process
Stay up to date on environmental property cleanup laws and changes.
Report Email Updates
Request more information on this property
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.