LYNCHBURG -- Liberty University has agreed to pay $9,270 in fines for minor wetland and stream damage resulting from a dorm project.

Department of Environmental Quality enforcement officer Marvin Booth says the damage involved a small amount of forest wetlands and 65 feet of a small stream.

Booth says the DEQ also ordered Liberty to create a small amount of new buffer zones on an existing stream in the same watershed.

Liberty chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. says the university wasn't at fault. But he says it's sometimes cheaper to settle than to pay for a legal challenge.

The agency initially proposed about $30,000 in fines but accepted Liberty's counter offer of $9,270.

Booth says the State Water Control Board is expected to finalize the consent order on Oct. 16.

-- Media General News Service