Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, December 2, 1994                   TAG: 9412020078
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Short

YOU'LL PAY MORE BUT BREATHE EASIER

Drivers will begin paying more as gasoline stations shift to a cleaner-burning but more-expensive fuel under government orders. Prices at the pump could rise a nickel or more a gallon.

By the end of the year, nearly one-third of all the gasoline sold in America will have to be a new, reformulated blend that the government estimates will produce 20 percent less toxic and smog-causing pollution.

``This is the biggest change in gasoline in our lifetime,'' said William Berman, environmental affairs director for the American Automobile Association.

But Berman voiced concern that retail gasoline prices may rise more than necessary in the confusion surrounding the introduction of the new fuel, which the Environmental Protection Agency estimates will cost refiners about 4 cents more a gallon to produce.

The change is expected to affect more than 48 million motorists in all or parts of 17 states, including the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions from southern Maine to Virginia.

Motorists are unlikely to notice much of a difference in the gasoline, say oil and auto industry experts. There may be a 1 or 2 percent decline in fuel economy, according to EPA and industry studies.