This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1965. 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 served as an unlicensed municipal and industrial landfill from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s, receiving incinerator ash, white goods, construction debris, and non-combustible rubbish in a filled ravine and drainage way. Contaminants confirmed at the site include trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and metals including arsenic, lead, mercury, and chromium. Leachate sampling detected arsenic and barium above NR 140 Preventive Action Limits and mercury and iron above Enforcement Standards, and leachate seeps reached a public waterway tributary to Pike River as early as 1992. Vapor intrusion sampling in 2024 revealed exceedances of Vapor Action Levels and Vapor Risk Screening Levels in residential indoor air, with ongoing residential air and sub-slab monitoring continuing through 2025–2026 under Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program oversight. 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.
Fill operations at this site began in the mid-1960s — more than two decades before 1986 — depositing municipal and industrial waste that is the documented source of the contamination now under active remediation in Wisconsin. The vapor intrusion investigation, residential air monitoring, leachate management, and long-term remediation work ahead represent substantial future costs that pre-1986 CGL carriers in Wisconsin 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.