West Palm Beach Fort Pierce, FL, September 24, 2026 — In Fort Pierce, new environmental testing results have emerged, adding complexity to a legal dispute concerning a waterfront development project at Fisherman’s Wharf. The findings are central to an ongoing lawsuit involving developer Chris Shelli and the city.

The city has previously argued that contamination at the site would offset damages claimed by Shelli. However, recent data from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) indicates levels of arsenic in soil samples that exceed state residential targets in certain areas of the Fisherman’s Wharf property.

While the FDEP’s findings point to arsenic concentrations above the established state residential benchmarks, experts familiar with the situation have suggested that these levels may not pose an immediate alarming risk. These experts note that such findings can often be consistent with historical industrial activities that may have occurred in the vicinity over time.

The precise nature and location of the elevated arsenic levels within the Fisherman’s Wharf site have not been detailed in the summary. Similarly, the specific historical industrial uses that might explain these findings were not provided.

These environmental results are expected to have implications for the ongoing legal proceedings and may re-contextualize discussions surrounding a settlement offer that was previously rejected. The contractor responsible for the testing and the specific dates of the FDEP findings were not provided.

Further details regarding the legal arguments, the specifics of the contamination claims, and the terms of the rejected settlement offer were not included in the provided summary. The outcome of the lawsuit and the future of the Fisherman’s Wharf development remain subject to the legal process and the interpretation of these new environmental data points.


Story summarized from the original created by Kate Hussey on www.wptv.com, see more information here.

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