Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato describes his plan for the county's Air Quality Program as a hybrid.

Hybrids are expected to be good for the environment, but questions remain about the relatively new technology, and the same is true of Mr. Onorato's plan.

There is a lot to like about it.

The main thing is it keeps the county's program under the county's jurisdiction rather than transferring its responsibilities to the state Department of Environmental Resources. That should allay some of the fears that local citizens were going to lose their voice in matters involving air quality.

Mr. Onorato recommended hiring 11 more people for the program, which has a staff of 36; appointing a permanent replacement for longtime manager Roger Westman, who retired in February; investing in technology that will improve tracking complaints and permit applications; and significantly increasing the salaries of engineers and managers to bring them closer to what the DEP pays its employees.

That should help cut down on the loss of workers to other agencies, so the county can, in Mr. Onorato's words, "stop being the farm team" for them. In addition, it will better equip the county to properly and promptly handle industry applications for new permits.

Mr. Onorato said most of those changes can be funded from federal air quality and pollution control dollars without cost to the county. We hope they won't exact a price from other air programs.

The bigger question mark goes on Mr. Onorato's recommendation that Allegheny County's air pollution regulations should mirror those of the DEP, which monitors the rest of the state except Philadelphia. He doesn't want Allegheny County to be at a competitive disadvantage by having rules that are tighter than the state regulations that cover surrounding counties.

The county has standards for coke plants, sandblasting, asbestos removal and school bus idling that aren't in effect throughout the state; they should be retained. Given that it's a rare day when Allegheny County's air quality meets federal standards, concerns about any relaxation of these rules are justified. For his part, Mr. Onorato argues that, if stronger rules are needed, they should come from the DEP.

We're pleased that Mr. Onorato has breathed new life into the Air Quality Program. The Board of Health and County Council, which will have to approve some of the changes, will have to make sure these remedies don't have any dangerous side effects.