This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1935. 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.
Two gasoline filling stations operated on this property from approximately 1935 to 1965, with a total of five underground storage tanks confirmed by historic Sanborn fire insurance maps, and an auto repair shop continued operating through 1981. The site sat vacant before being redeveloped as apartments in 1987, and no tank removal records exist — a ground-penetrating radar survey indicates possible UST remnants still in place beneath the property. Groundwater contamination is severe: benzene concentrations in monitoring wells have reached 4,620 µg/L, more than 900 times the Wisconsin NR 140 enforcement standard of 5 µg/L, and light non-aqueous phase liquid (free product) has been identified in the area of the former southeast filling station. Dissolved lead at 844 µg/L — more than 56 times the enforcement standard — has also been confirmed in groundwater, and the contamination plume is migrating toward public rights-of-way. 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.
Gasoline filling stations and an auto repair shop operated at this property from approximately 1935 through 1981, releasing petroleum products and lead into soil and groundwater from underground storage tanks that may never have been properly removed — all well before 1986. The LNAPL recovery, groundwater remediation, and long-term monitoring required under the Wisconsin DNR's LUST program to address benzene and lead concentrations that remain hundreds of times above NR 140 enforcement standards represent substantial future costs that those 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.