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Public commenter alleges wood dumped on private property, raises PFOS/PFAS concerns
Summary
At a public comment session, resident Chester Cullen said wood had been placed on his property by a contractor and accused county actions of producing sludge that may contain PFOS/PFAS; he presented historical photos and a video but no formal action was recorded.
Chester Cullen, a resident, told a public comment session that wood had been placed on his private property without permission and that sludge the county described as a “win-win” may contain PFOS and PFAS chemicals.
Cullen said he brought photos and an 18-minute video to the meeting to support his account, and he said historical surveys from 1961 and 1965 show no road where county records now indicate one. He asked officials to review the evidence and to remove the material he described as contaminated.
“I circled it. No road,” Cullen said, referring to a photograph. He said the wood “ain’t driftwood. Johnny Hutch put it on our property,” and that the wood had been cut “on the Hutchinson sawmill.” Cullen also said, “Now we got PFOS, PFAS,” and warned the material “is gonna spread.”
Cullen said the wood and sludge were placed while his household was away and that he left photographs and the video with meeting organizers. The transcript records no staff response to his allegations during the public comment period, and no formal action or vote was recorded on the matter.
Meeting staff opened the public comment period, noted a three-minute limit per speaker and invited attendees to remain nearby in case additional speakers arrived. After Cullen finished, the facilitator thanked him and said there were no further commenters at that time.
The remarks in the record are allegations by a resident and were not verified at the meeting. The transcript does not show county staff or other officials addressing Cullen’s specific claims about the origin of the road, the identity or role of “Johnny Hutch,” the operations at the Hutchinson sawmill, or any testing for PFOS/PFAS.
