cgi and ssh

Hi,

I have a cgi script that needs scp a file from one server to another. 
Because the script runs under the httpd user, for this to work without 
prompting for password, I need to do a lot of configuring that I am not 
sure would be consider good practise. For example: the httpd user's 
account this currently set as 'noloign' that would need to change to 
bash or similar. I have to generate ssh key without a password. 

In the past I have used nfs for copying files from one server to another 
but this isn't an option. Can anyone advise me about this? Will enabling 
the httpd user be a security issue? Is there a safer alternative?

TIA,
Dp.