A plan to open up nearly 9,000 acres near Pittsburgh International Airport to natural gas drilling may have hit one big barrier in the form of Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

Mr. Onorato said yesterday he wants the Allegheny County Airport Authority to halt the potentially lucrative bidding process to award drilling rights until a comprehensive strategy and revenue-sharing plan is devised.

He said the airport authority acted against his wishes in advertising this week for bids from companies interested in drilling for gas on 8,840 acres at Pittsburgh International and 423 acres at the county airport in West Mifflin.

The land involved is owned by the county and leased to the airport authority. Mr. Onorato said County Council, under the home rule charter, must approve any sale, leasing or use of the land.

"[The airport authority] can't do it unilaterally," he said.

Before any drilling takes place at the airport or on any other county-owned land, Mr. Onorato said, he wants to form a committee to look for ways to maximize revenues and to determine how it is divvied up.

Officials said the drilling could potentially generate millions of dollars in upfront bonuses and royalties.

Mr. Onorato said there's a good possibility the county will claim at least some of the revenue generated from the drilling for its strapped general fund.

But he added he also wants to use some of it to reduce costs at Pittsburgh International in hopes of attracting more flights and new airlines.

"We're in full support of the concept. We want to make sure it gets done right and that we maximize the benefit to the taxpayers," he said.

County Council President Rich Fitzgerald also introduced legislation this week that would require council's approval for the leasing of mineral rights involving county-owned property.

The airport authority isn't conceding the issue just yet.

Asked if he agreed that the bidding needed County Council approval, authority Executive Director Bradley D. Penrod replied, "Obviously we didn't think that going into it."

He said the airport authority has leased county-owned land near Pittsburgh International for years for a variety of developments without ever needing council's approval.

Those leases have generated about $5 million in revenue, all of which has been plowed back into the airport budget to help finance other projects or to provide maintenance for completed developments under agreements with the airlines.

Another complicating factor is that much of the county-owned land near Pittsburgh International was purchased with federal funds. As a result, revenues generated from those lands may have to stay at the airport to be used for aviation-related purposes.

Drillers are going after natural gas deposits contained in a Marcellus shale formation that stretches from southern New York state through much of Pennsylvania into West Virginia. Higher natural gas prices and improved drilling techniques have spurred interest in the deposits.