FORT PIERCE — It’s been 107 days since the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) warned the City of Fort Pierce that unpermitted “structures and activities” at the city-owned Little Jim Bait and Tackle location could prompt fines and legal action against the city.
But both FDEP and the city have continued to offer no specific responses to multiple inquiries by Hometown News about what remediation–including possible fines against the city–will result from FDEP’s December findings surrounding the North Hutchinson Island bar/restaurant site.
In a Dec. 17, 2025, letter to the city, FDEP said alleged encroachment on submerged state-owned property by structures that had not been approved by the state could cause the city to face “liability for damages and restoration and the judicial imposition of civil penalties…”…