A window exists for getting some new residential sewer-tap approvals in the Butler Area Sewer Authority's service area during this construction season.

However, the fact remains that the state Department of Environmental Protection has been too heavy-handed in response to the authority's failure to meet the terms of a consent agreement involving steps to keep stormwater out of the authority's sewer lines.

And that heavy-handedness will not only negatively affect the contractors who build homes, but also the industries that supply those contractors — as well as the municipalities that would benefit from tax revenues generated by the new construction.

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

DEP says it is complying with state law in enforcing the terms of the department's consent order and agreement with BASA that expired Dec. 31, and it should be commended for working with that in mind.

However, Ron Lybrook, monitoring manager for the DEP's Water Management Department in Meadville, Crawford County, acknowledged in a telephone interview Thursday morning that BASA had kept in touch with DEP about problems the sewer authority had encountered along the way in trying to meet the terms of that agreement.

He emphatically stated the department's belief that BASA had not shrugged off its responsibilities in connection with the agreement. In fact, he said BASA is one of the more pro-active authorities regarding the problem of stormwater infiltration.

But the department's hard stance in response to the failed deadline isn't consistent with DEP's positive recognition of what BASA has tried to accomplish.

One of the big problems that BASA encountered and which contributed to BASA missing the Dec. 31 deadline was the difficulty in locating manholes — because those manholes had been covered during road resurfacings.

While that problem can't be classified as an act of God, it must be acknowledged that BASA's business is not road construction and that the sewer authority was victimized by road work not under its control.

All of the statistics about the overflow of stormwater and raw sewage, especially during the past two years, must be viewed with recollection of the active hurricane seasons that affected Butler County. Prior to those years were several years when "drought" was the topic of the warm-weather months.

The current ban on new sewage permits doesn't affect facilities such as schools, hospitals and fire or police stations, and a permit is allowed for eliminating a public health hazard involving an existing dwelling.

But the current sewage-permit moratorium has the potential to scuttle a considerable amount of new development in a county experiencing rapid growth. The amount of positive economic impact lost from construction that would produce a negligible increase of sewage flow, if allowed to be built — when factored into the sewage numbers of the total BASA system — raises troubling questions about DEP's judgment in imposing the ban.

Lybrook says DEP has placed a "high priority" on getting a new consent order and agreement in place. He said the department's legal staff has said a draft of a new order and agreement could be completed in four weeks.

He said an allocation of some new connections would be authorized once BASA and its service area municipalities approved the new order and agreement.

Therefore, how much of the 2006 home-construction season in the BASA service area can be salvaged depends on BASA and the municipalities' ability to expedite their responsibilities in regard to the new documents — and whether DEP acts promptly and without imposing additional red tape.

It would seem that the DEP legal staff is capable of significantly reducing the agreement-preparation time, if it dedicates itself to that goal.

Again, DEP officials are correct in trying to work within the framework of state law. However, the complexities inherent in correcting an unacceptable situation that has existed for many decades should generate understanding by the state agency — for sewer authorities demonstrating a solid good-faith effort to comply with regulations and agreements.

If BASA had embraced a deadbeat attitude, DEP's current moratorium would have been justified to wake up the authority to its responsibilities. BASA's efforts geared toward meeting its obligations under the expired agreement, coupled with BASA's efforts to keep DEP informed of progress and problems along the way, should have generated a more reasonable stance on DEP's part.

The people and officials of the BASA service area are not pro-pollution, and DEP hasn't made that accusation.

But the DEP moratorium unfairly casts suspicion about the way BASA and its officials do their jobs.

DEP, BASA and service area municipal officials must spend the weeks ahead resolving the current unfortunate situation. The construction season, which already is in full swing outside of BASA's area, must also be given the opportunity to thrive in the BASA municipalities by way of whatever new- housing starts are now on hold.