Chief Executive Dan Onorato and local environmental groups agree that the Allegheny County Air Quality Program is understaffed, the pay for employees is too low and morale is even lower.

The environmental groups are rightly concerned what he'll do about it.

In a letter and in public comments at a press conference last week, Clean Water Action and the Group Against Smog and Pollution asked Mr. Onorato for a pledge to keep the air program under local control, where it has existed as part of the health department for 50 years. Sustainable Pittsburgh and the Sierra Club Allegheny Chapter supported the request.

We wholeheartedly agree, as we've said before, that the quality of the region's air should remain in the county's hands, where there has been a long history of improvement and citizen involvement.

The county says the program is undergoing a top-to-bottom review, and Mr. Onorato has said that one possibility for the future is turning the air planning, permitting, monitoring and enforcement duties over to the state's Department of Environmental Protection. That option might ease the county budget's bottom line, but it won't ensure the same clean air protection for county residents.

This question mark that Mr. Onorato has dangled over the program -- and he maintains he has made no decision -- already has inflicted damage.

Roger Westman, who was in charge of the program for 12 years, decided to retire at the end of the month rather than accept the appointment of a deputy and the accompanying changes in his responsibilities. Mr. Westman, who is 62, has worked for the program for 34 years and has built a reputation as a straight shooter and the authority for information on regulating air pollution in the county. Environmental and health advocacy groups as well as state, federal and industry officials all gave him high marks.

The county will lose that valuable asset at a crucial time, when work is starting on issuing air quality permits for U.S. Steel's $1 billion plan for two new coke batteries at its Clairton Works.

If there really are problems with how the county processes clean air permits, as Mr. Onorato asserts, it's within his power as county executive to fix them. His response should be to make a respected county agency work, not to transfer it to a more distant and less interested state government.