This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1954. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the ongoing cleanup and groundwater monitoring obligations that Wisconsin DNR continues to oversee.
This property has operated as a gasoline service station since the 1950s, with four underground storage tanks installed between 1966 and 1968 — including a 12,000-gallon unleaded gasoline tank and smaller fuel oil and gasoline tanks. Petroleum contamination from decades of pre-1986 fueling operations has impacted groundwater, with benzene measured at nearly fifteen times the Wisconsin NR 140 enforcement standard in recent monitoring. The site remains an open Wisconsin DNR LUST case, with groundwater monitoring and well abandonment work still required before closure can be achieved. 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.
Underground storage tanks installed at this property between 1966 and 1968 supported petroleum fueling operations that began in the 1950s and continued for approximately two decades before 1986. The ongoing groundwater monitoring, well abandonment, and any additional remediation needed to bring benzene and other contaminants below NR 140 enforcement standards and achieve closure of the open Wisconsin DNR LUST case represent future costs that the historical pre-1986 carriers insuring those operations 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.