A Government minister has described as ?a pack of nonsense? a claim that there is a Cabinet split on whether or not to import foreign soil to resolve problems with the cricket wicket at the National Sports Centre.

Sports Minister Dale Butler has strongly rebutted a claim by Opposition Shadow Environment Minister Cole Simons that Mr. Butler and Deputy Premier Dr. Ewart Brown are ranged against Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield over the wisdom of importing soil to Bermuda.

According to Mr. Simons the Government has commissioned a study of islands in the Caribbean to determine which have been successful importing soil for their pitches so a similar model could be applied for Bermuda.

He claimed Dr. Brown and Mr. Butler had told Cabinet they were ?for? foreign soil importation while the Environment Minister warned the environmental danger was too great.

Premier Alex Scott then requested that Ms Butterfield canvass islands in the West Indies, Mr. Simons said.

A report has been commissioned, Mr. Butler confirmed last night, but the issue was between the Sports Ministry and the Environment Ministry and had nothing to do with the Tourism Minister.

And he said no decision would be made until a full report on the experiences of other countries had been prepared for debate at Cabinet.

Speaking on Friday, the UBP?s Mr. Simons reiterated his opposition to bringing in soil and said the potential action of bringing soil to the Island could leave Bermuda open to an environmental catastrophe the likes of which had not been seen since the cedar blight.

?The Minister of the Sports and Community Affairs, and the Minister of Tourism and Transport, despite their enthusiasm for developing Bermuda as a site for international cricket festivals, and sports tourism, must not do so at the expense of our environment, our ecosystems and our agricultural industry,? he said.

?If they are not going to respect the recommendations of the Minister of the Environment, and the Ministry of the Environment, will they take responsibility for a possible catastrophe, like the blight which devastated our cedar trees in the 1940s and 1950s.?

The Shadow Environment Minister said Government must not compromise Bermuda?s ecological balance for ?paltry short term gains?.

?It typifies a Government who has little, or no regard for the delicacy of Bermuda?s ecological balance,? he claimed.

?This Government will sell Bermuda?s soul and compromise our Environment, for the almighty buck.?

Government had to respect the integrity of the Agricultural Control of Plant Disease and Pest Control Regulations 1970, he said.

?We must not allow the importation of soil from the Caribbean,? he said. ?We must not allow in micro-organisms which are quarantined in other Caribbean islands into Bermuda where they can thrive because of our similar climate and cause devastation here.?

Instead, Mr. Simons said local soil ? which had already been sent overseas for testing with promising results ? had potential to be used for cricket wickets.

?We must further develop this option,? he said. ?Surely there must be some way to provide enhancements to Bermuda?s soil at the National Sports Centre so that it can meet ICC regulatory standards.?

Dr. Gerard Bean, Chairman of the National Sports Centre said on Friday night he was not privy to the inner workings of Cabinet and could not comment.

However, he stood firm on his stance that the National Sports Centre Trustees had no intention of importing foreign soil for cricket pitches.

Sports Minister Mr. Butler said his Ministry and the Environment Ministry had endeavoured to keep the public fully informed of the issue and added: ?Mr. Simons has never spoken to me about this matter and at best he is a mischief maker.?