This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1910. 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 hosted continuous industrial operations from at least 1910 through 1975, including grey iron foundry casting, furnace manufacturing, and associated processes such as sand casting, coal and coke storage, grinding, and paint and oil storage. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), and heavy metals have been confirmed in soil and groundwater, and monitoring wells show chrysene and dissolved arsenic exceeding Wisconsin DNR NR 140 Enforcement Standards. TCE has also been detected above screening levels in a sanitary sewer manhole in the Oklahoma Avenue right-of-way, and the groundwater plume flows toward the Kinnickinnic River approximately 1,100 feet to the northeast. A combined Site Investigation, Remedial Action Options Report, and Remedial Action Plan has been approved 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 operations at this property — including grey iron foundry casting, furnace manufacturing, solvent use, and coal and coke storage — ran continuously from at least 1910 through 1975, placing more than six decades of contaminating activity squarely before 1986. The approved Site Investigation and Remedial Action Plan under the Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program, together with ongoing groundwater monitoring for chrysene and dissolved arsenic exceeding NR 140 Enforcement Standards, off-site sewer vapor assessment along Oklahoma Avenue, and remediation of the PAH, PCE, TCE, and heavy-metal plume migrating toward the Kinnickinnic River, represent substantial future costs that the historical pre-1986 carriers for the businesses that operated here 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.