It is no surprise that the state Department of Environmental Protection is focusing stepped-up attention on Connoquenessing Borough and Connoquenessing and Forward townships on the matter of proper sewage disposal. With continuing development along Route 68 between Butler and Evans City, leaders of those municipalities have a growing responsibility to ensure that environmental issues such as sewage disposal are adequately addressed.

While some of the evolving requirements might pose a temporary inconvenience and necessitate finding additional money - for the municipalities and their residents - delaying such considerations would prove to be much more costly five or 10 years hence.

For many areas of Butler County that have so far not needed to consider sewage disposal outside the realm of sand mounds and septic systems, DEP's focus on sanitary sewer systems is a source of understandable uneasiness, primarily because of the potential financial implications. Sanitary sewer tap-in fees of thousands of dollars are the rule, rather than the exception.

For example, in regard to Penn Township's sanitary sewer project, it is estimated that the cost for tap-ins will be about $4,500.

In the case of Connoquenessing Borough, officials are being required by DEP to provide information on how much development the current treatment plant can handle before expansion becomes necessary. Neither Connoquenessing Township nor Forward Township has a municipal treatment plant, making them candidates for a sewage system or to become part of a regional system.

There actually are three reasons behind DEP's interest in the Route 68 corridor area at this juncture. Besides the growth issue, previous plans have been judged outdated, and there have been problems with some on-lot sewage systems.

Additionally, many developers have installed small-flow sewage treatment facilities - a situation that has created a problem in terms of monitoring that they are operating correctly.

Public health demands that sewage issues be properly addressed. And, like it or hate it, DEP is the agency charged with ensuring that there is compliance with related laws, and with helping communities get a handle on their sewage issues.

Growth is bringing about change in the three municipalities, and complying with current thinking on environmental issues is in the communities' best long-term interests.

A meeting involving officials of the three municipalities has been suggested to evaluate the sewage issue. That meeting should be scheduled as quickly as possible to develop a consensus as to how to proceed.

Growth in the three municipalities isn't likely to stop, and neither should officials' efforts to react to it correctly. The DEP is correct in stepping into the picture before a large amount of additional growth occurs.