This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1951. 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 served automotive and petroleum-related uses since at least 1951, when a Sanborn fire insurance map documented the site as a storage and auto repair facility, with city directory records confirming occupancy dating to at least 1935. A 10,000-gallon gasoline underground storage tank — likely installed in the 1960s or 1970s based on its removal in 1990 — along with an additional 1,000-gallon gasoline UST and a former fuel oil UST contributed to severe petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater. A 2023 Phase II Environmental Site Assessment confirmed groundwater concentrations of benzene at more than 3,300 times the Wisconsin NR 140 Enforcement Standard, with toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, and naphthalene also exceeding enforcement standards by orders of magnitude across multiple temporary monitoring wells. 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.
Petroleum storage and automotive repair operations at this property date back to at least 1935, with underground storage tanks likely installed in the 1960s and 1970s introducing petroleum hydrocarbons into soil and groundwater well before 1986. The ongoing site investigation required under Wisconsin's NR 700 rule series, the groundwater remediation needed to address benzene and other petroleum compounds exceeding NR 140 Enforcement Standards by orders of magnitude, and the long-term groundwater monitoring that will follow represent substantial future costs that the CGL carriers insuring those pre-1986 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
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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.