While not the magnitude of Westinghouse Electric Co.'s decision to move its operations to Cranberry Township, the significance of the good news surrounding the proposed Butler Crossings shopping plaza and office building in Butler Township should not be understated.

The upbeat news is the Butler Area Sewer Authority's decision Tuesday to allocate 45 sewer connections to Cedarwood Development, Inc., of Akron, Ohio, that should allow the developer to move forward with the Crossings project.

The project will be built next to Cedarwood's Butler Commons Shopping Center on New Castle Road.

Some approvals still are necessary leading up to the turning of the first shovelful of earth, but it is to be surmised that those approvals are attainable. They include approval of the developer's agreement, planning module, subdivision specifics and sanitary sewer system design.

It would have been unfortunate if the project had been lost as a result of BASA's problems with the state Department of Environmental Protection regarding sewer line capacity and sewage overflows at five BASA pumping stations during wet weather.

It was those issues that had kept Butler Crossings' fate uncertain, including whether the project would be granted a sufficient number of sought-after sanitary sewer tap-ins.

The fact that a reasonable resolution of those concerns apparently has been achieved is indicative of a spirit of cooperation that was not always evident between BASA and the DEP over the past five or six years.

It's right that the DEP continues to put reasonable pressure on BASA to comply with a new consent agreement hammered out in 2006. But at the same time the two entities must work cooperatively to allow new development to continue.

BASA's Tuesday approval, apparently with the blessing of the DEP, indicatives that such resolve is in place.

The reasonable solution to sewage issues at Butler Crossings is in the form of two flow equalization tanks to regulate to lower- or low-flow times the sewage added to the BASA system by the shopping center and office building. Each tank will hold 18,000 to 20,000 gallons, meaning that the capacity is expected to enable Butler Crossings to avoid detrimental consequences to the lines and pumping station that will handle its sewage flow — even in wet weather.

Meanwhile, Cedarwood has demonstrated a commendable understanding of BASA's sewer tap-ins limitations as imposed by the DEP.

Cedarwood originally sought as many as 80 connections but reduced its need to 45 by making the project "certified green," meaning that the project will be using less water and energy than initially anticipated.

Cedarwood's ability to do that indicates determination to be a good neighbor as well as to make a good profit.

"Shopping center is back on track," read the headline at the top of Wednesday's edition of the Butler Eagle.

The project never was off-track as something whose benefit to the township and area was being questioned. But its status nevertheless has endured various stages of uncertainty due to the environmental issues that surround BASA and its service area.

Perhaps Butler Crossings' biggest contribution to the economic development of the area will be its demonstrated ability to successfully navigate hurdles that some others might not have been able to overcome.

Others with economic development initiatives in mind would do well to familiarize themselves with Cedarwood's successful example.