Municipalities in the Butler Area Sewer Authority's service area apparently are trying to do what is necessary to comply with the state Department of Environmental Protection's demands tied to the eventual lifting of the current ban on new sewer tap-ins.

A meeting between the municipalities' engineers and DEP officials scheduled tentatively for May 8 at the Butler Township Municipal Building will be one more step toward a new long-term plan covering the service area.

BASA's current long-term plan was approved more than 30 years ago. The authority missed a Dec. 31 deadline for corrective actions tied to a 2001 consent agreement, resulting in DEP imposing the new-tap-ins moratorium. The new long-term plan will focus on future areas to be served by BASA, as well as work needed in connection with areas already served.

At the heart of the tap-in moratorium is elimination of sewage overflows from four pumping stations. During wet weather in 2005, an estimated 31.4 million gallons of sewage overflowed, which obviously was neither a healthy nor desired situation.

Still, the indefinite tap-in ban remains troubling. The ban has virtually shut down new construction in the BASA service area during the heart of the construction season, affecting contractors and materials suppliers. With so much growth in the municipalities served by BASA, the situation represents a significant economic blow.

What remains puzzling amid the moratorium is that on one hand Gov. Ed Rendell has delivered millions of dollars to Butler County for projects that will assist economic development, while on the other hand his Department of Environmental Protection is stifling progress by way of a ban that, by itself, will have minuscule, if any, impact regarding the sewage-overflow issue.

When planning and environmental agencies review proposals, they do so with the intent of determining consistency with approved plans and laws. However, the DEP tap-in ban is inconsistent with Rendell's stated goal of advancing the state's economic climate.

Why the governor hasn't noticed this troubling situation is puzzling. Regardless, judging from an article in Sunday's Butler Eagle, it would appear that much, if not all, of this year's prime construction season might be lost, unless DEP rethinks its heavy-handed stance.

BASA serves all or part of the City of Butler, East Butler Borough and Butler, Center, Summit, Connoquenessing and Oakland townships. It also provides sanitary-sewer service to two commercial customers in Penn Township.

While the May 8 meeting will not be a public session, residents of the BASA service area should watch for developments stemming from the session. What impacts the authority obviously impacts its customers and their wallets and pocketbooks.

Hopefully, the meeting will help pave the way for a quicker lifting of the tap-ins ban than currently is anticipated. But even if it doesn't, all attending the session should work to avoid any new glitches or disagreements. The tap-in moratorium must not be prolonged.

It's encouraging that all of the BASA municipalities seem to be on the same page in terms of trying to meet DEP's edicts. It is to be hoped that DEP will notice that cooperation when it weighs whether the moratorium should stay, be relaxed or be canceled.