Local environmental groups have asked Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato for a pledge to continue the health department's Air Program and provide it with adequate funding and staffing to enforce air pollution regulations.

Clean Water Action and the Group Against Smog and Pollution delivered a letter to Mr. Onorato yesterday morning, asking that he commit to the Allegheny County Health Department-run program, which he has criticized for being too tough on industry.

By the afternoon, Mr. Onorato had rebuffed the groups, saying that he "will not be intimidated by environmental groups or business groups to make a decision one way or another."

Mr. Onorato has said he is reviewing the operation of the Air Program and is considering, as one of several options, ending it and turning over its duties to the state Department of Environmental Protection. He said yesterday that the letter from the environmental groups is one of many perspectives on the issue that the review will evaluate before a decision is made in five or six weeks.

GASP Executive Director Rachel Filippini said the work of the Air Program has been "stymied" by political interference in recent months, and the lingering threat of moving the program to the state "is not helping Allegheny County residents breathe easier."

"This amounts to holding the Air Program hostage by not making a decision to keep the program local and enhance it," Ms. Filippini said, noting that eight staff vacancies are hurting the program's enforcement, inspection, permitting and planning work.

Mr. Onorato acknowledged that a hiring freeze is in place until the review is finished. "If we're keeping it local, the program's definitely not properly staffed," he said. "And right now the pay probably isn't at the right level either."

He said the county is trying to hire a private firm to help do permit reviews and work on eliminating a "backlog" in issuing operating permits. The environmental groups and Air Program personnel have said that no company has been prevented or delayed from operating because of those permits.

The letter, which also had the support of the Sierra Club Allegheny Chapter and Sustainable Pittsburgh, urged the hiring of a new, qualified program director, and urged Mr. Onorato to hold a public hearing before any decision is made to change or do away with the program.

"Residents deserve to be able to have their opinions heard on an issue that will affect their health, and their families' health," said Kathy Lawson, Western Pennsylvania director for Clean Water Action. "This should not be a decision made solely behind closed doors."

Although the Air Program review has not been a public process, Mr. Onorato said environmental groups and the public have had ample opportunities to comment on it. He refused to commit to a public hearing prior to a final decision on the issue, but he did not rule one out.

The letter also said Mr. Onorato should "ensure that qualified public health professionals are seated on the Board of Health," a reference to the appointment to the board of County Manager Jim Flynn, the first time such a high-ranking county official has held a spot on the semi-independent board. Mr. Flynn, along with health department Director Dr. Bruce Dixon, engineered administrative changes to the program two weeks ago that caused longtime Air Program manager Roger Westman to retire.

Mr. Onorato said criticisms of Mr. Flynn are "counterproductive," and said the health board benefits from a mix of members from health care, business, environment and government.

The Air Program has been under fire for several months by the Onorato administration, which has charged that it takes too long to issue air pollution permits to industries and is also reviewing whether the county's pollution laws, which are stricter in some areas than state law, are necessary.

Ms. Filippini said that although the air is cleaner in Allegheny County than 50 years ago when the county started its pollution control program, the county does not meet federal standards for soot or ground-level ozone, a precursor of unhealthy smog. She noted that the program has eight staffing vacancies.

"We hope [Mr.] Onorato's full scale review of the air program and its permitting process will result in a strengthening of the local program," she said.