This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1922. 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 been in continuous industrial use since 1922, with operations spanning printing press plate manufacturing, foundry and casting work, injection molding, machine shop operations, brass plating, and painting over several decades. Trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination from former degreasing operations has been confirmed in soil and groundwater, with TCE concentrations in groundwater reaching 320,000 parts per billion. Off-site vapor intrusion has been documented at neighboring properties and in storm sewers along public rights-of-way, prompting Wisconsin DNR to require a vapor intrusion assessment of off-site structures. Active groundwater extraction and soil vapor extraction systems have been operating since 2002, a sub-slab depressurization system was constructed on-site in 2023, and an in-situ thermal remediation system was approved in 2025. 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 site began in 1922 and continued through multiple decades of heavy manufacturing well before 1986, encompassing foundry work, degreasing, plating, and machining that produced the TCE contamination now being addressed. The ongoing groundwater extraction, soil vapor extraction, vapor intrusion mitigation, and the in-situ thermal remediation program ahead represent substantial future costs that those historical 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
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.