This property has a documented history as a landfill predating 1986. 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.

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.

The foundry sand, construction debris, and industrial fill at this property were deposited by operations conducted well before 1986, with soil sampling as early as 1991 confirming that severe contamination — including diesel range organics at 39,000 PPM, lead, PAHs, BTEX, cadmium, and PCBs — was already entrenched to depths of approximately fourteen feet, and with two buried 55-gallon drums of oil uncovered from the fill during nearby highway construction in 2014. The site investigation now underway under the Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program, together with the remediation of confirmed off-site migration to adjacent properties and a railroad right-of-way and the long-term monitoring and compliance obligations that will follow, represent future costs that the historical 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.