Tyrone Town Manager Barry Amos

said his town's environmental record can be matched up against any entity

in the county.

Amos made the statement Monday

after allegations by noted biologist and environmentalist Dennis Chase

that the town destroyed wetlands when building its new ballfields.

Chase's full allegations can

be found on the editorial page, but Amos said the whole discussion is

premature.

"There are no jurisdictional

wetlands on that site," he said.

Chase accuses the town of knowing

wetlands were present at Redwine Park and filling them in to build the

town's new ballfields.

After Chase appeared at the

Town Council meeting in January, the town hired a consultant to determine

if there were any wetlands on the site, Amos said.

The consultant reported that

if there were any wetlands, as defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

it would be less than an acre, according to Amos.

Chase has charged that the

town's request for funding from Fayette County in its fiscal 2002 budget

was targeted to help pay for mitigation of the destroyed wetlands.

But if the Corps of Engineers

delineates the small acreage as wetlands, Amos said the town already owns

plenty of land that could be used for mitigation purposes.

"There will be no expenditures

needed by any government agency," Amos said.

Amos said he has asked Chase

for the information that he had about the site, but has never received

it.

Chase also accuses the town

of erosion control problems at the park, but Amos disputed the account.

"Tyrone has always placed

more emphasis on the environment than most communities. The town believes

its environmental record is exemplary," Amos said.

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