CRANBERRY TWP — The township’s Brush Creek sewage treatment plant staff was honored recently by a professional group of their peers with its safety award for 2011.

The Western Pennsylvania Water Pollution Control Association, an organization of more than 600 professionals and municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities in 19 counties, awarded Cranberry’s sewage treatment plan with the Facilities Safety Award.

The award was announced at the Oct. 28 association meeting.

Plant manager Mike Sedon said, “Safety is one of the four pillars of Cranberry Township’s mission statement. With that in mind, the plant staff strives each and every day to maintain a safe work environment and a safe mindset.”

Cranberry’s plant, which employs 12, was honored in the Class II Division, which includes all of the largest plants in Western Pennsylvania.

“Cranberry Township needed to re-evaluate our role in managing our employees safety and we made significant changes from our committee structure, to our training and how we promote the program overall,” said Jason Dailey, the township’s public works director.

The award is based on a questionnaire of plant safety training, material handling, equipment safety and emergency preparedness.

The plant off Powell Road had a number of preventable injuries in the recent past that led to time off by its staff, according to township officials.

Under the new program, no lost time accidents have occurred.