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.
This property operated as a gasoline service station from 1935 through 1980, accumulating forty-five years of petroleum fueling activity before the 1986 cutoff. A 2,000-gallon leaded gasoline underground storage tank was discovered and removed in 2002, and additional suspect USTs remain in place. Lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been confirmed in soil, and groundwater sampling from monitoring well SMW-1 shows lead concentrations exceeding Wisconsin NR 140 Preventive Action Limits, with groundwater flow trending east-northeast and indicating off-site migration potential. 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 fueling operations at this property ran continuously from 1935 through 1980, spanning forty-five years of gasoline storage and dispensing activity entirely before 1986. The ongoing site investigation, removal of remaining suspect underground storage tanks, groundwater remediation to address lead and VOC concentrations exceeding NR 140 limits, and any additional work required to reach Wisconsin DNR LUST program closure represent future costs that the pre-1986 carriers insuring 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
Stay up to date on environmental property cleanup laws and changes.
Report Email Updates
Request more information on this property
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.