The Butler Area Sewer Authority's troubles with the state Department of Environmental Protection last year were due in part to the authority's failure to meet information deadlines and for not keeping the state agency properly apprised of anticipated delays in meeting terms of a 2001 consent order.

That lackadaisical attitude regarding the former consent document resulted in DEP imposing a moratorium on new sewer tap-ins. That edict virtually shut down new construction in the BASA service area — the City of Butler, East Butler Borough, and Butler, Center, Connoquenessing, Oakland and Summit townships — during most of 2006.

And, although a number of tap-ins have since been approved by DEP for this year, it's probably safe to say that the limited number of taps currently available have delayed or scuttled some significant amount of new construction that might have come about if no limit were in place.

An article in Wednesday's Butler Eagle seems to indicate that BASA is determined not to get in further hot water with DEP now or in the future, and that's good. Although the authority has until July 31, 2012, to end stormwater overflows — what BASA failed to accomplish under the previous consent order that expired on Dec. 31, 2005 — it already is asking to be considered for an extension because of what BASA perceives as delays in the DEP's review of special studies that member municipalities have been required to complete.

Those studies examined each municipality's projected long-term sewage disposal needs.

John Schon, BASA manager, described the extension request as a safety measure. The authority is right in not exposing itself to possible fines in the future that would impact BASA customers.

Ignoring early delays that could contribute to significant problems later would be foolish. Meeting all terms of the current consent order will be a formidable task for the authority, even without any further delays.

According to Freda Tarbell, a DEP spokeswoman, the state agency has received all of the required draft studies from the municipalities BASA serves.

She said each of those reports contained deficiencies and that DEP officials had met with all of the municipalities to discuss them.

Since then, she said, the City of Butler and Butler and Summit townships have submitted revisions. However, the review and approval process apparently is nowhere near complete, and DEP has no stated timeline for returning approved plans to BASA.

Facing the uncertainty and remembering its headaches during 2006, BASA seems to understand that it has little or no wiggle-room pertaining to full compliance with the current consent order — and is unwilling to stake the future on luck. With that in mind, it is attempting to address any potential glitches well before they risk becoming serious problems.

BASA should have been as committed to avoiding problems when it was operating under the 2001 consent order.

With that point acknowledged, it is appropriate to point out that DEP, despite not having to work under a specific deadline for approving the municipalities' studies, should expedite the review and revisions process, so as not to delay any future BASAcompliance work that might be necessary.

Moving forward on the work stipulated in the consent order is in fact a two-way street under which full cooperation between the two agencies is necessary.

BASA's attitude now is to not take any chances. DEP's attitude must be a commitment to not throw any unnecessary roadblocks in BASA's way, so it can get its required work done on time.

From both vantage points, that's not too much to ask.