This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1948. 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.
Multiple industrial and municipal operations at this site date to the late 1940s, including a landfill that accepted industrial, commercial, and residential waste from 1948 to 1955, manufacturing operations that used chlorinated solvents, bulk solvent distribution, and petroleum storage — all active well before 1986. In 1982, high-level volatile organic compounds were discovered in multiple municipal drinking water production wells, prompting Wisconsin DNR to open an investigation in 1983 and leading to the site's listing on the EPA National Priorities List in 1986. The affected area spans both banks of the Wisconsin River, with vapor intrusion confirmed at multiple commercial and industrial buildings and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) also detected in municipal water wells. Consent Decrees entered in 1989 and 1991 direct ongoing investigation and remediation 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.
Industrial and municipal operations at this site began in the late 1940s and continued through the mid-1980s, placing decades of contaminating activity squarely within the pre-1986 window. The extensive remediation program ahead — including groundwater treatment, vapor intrusion mitigation, drinking water well protection, and PFAS assessment — represents substantial future and ongoing 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.