THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 30, 1994 TAG: 9411300661
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Get ready for crunch time during pump time.
Gasoline prices here are expected to rise as much as 7 to 9 cents per gallon in the next month - the result of a federal mandate that requires the region's service stations to begin pumping cleaner-burning fuel by Jan. 1.
All of Hampton Roads, the Peninsula, Richmond and some surrounding counties, and sections of Northern Virginia will be affected by the new rules.
The reformulated gasoline, which burns cleaner because it has more oxygenated additives and less benzene, is expected to reduce harmful ozone emissions and help the region finally meet federal clean air standards.
But get ready to fill up a little more often. The clean gasoline reduces gas mileage by 1 percent to 2 percent.
And depending on which additives are used, the new formula may not be good for lawn mowers or other small engines.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that, overall, the new fuel will cost the average family an additional $20 per year.
The expected increase is likely to be short-term, however, according to gasoline distributors.
The price will probably decrease by several cents at the start of next year, when the region completes the change, some distributors and transportation experts predicted.
Virginia was not mandated to become part of the program. But former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder opted into it in 1991, volunteering 28 cities and counties that did not meet the 1990 federal Clean Air Act guidelines.
The Allen administration has decided not to back out of the agreement, according to a spokeswoman for the state Secretary of Natural Resources.
Suffolk is the western-most Tidewater city affected by the program. North Carolina is not included.
Some Hampton Roads gas merchants are worried that the public will fill up in North Carolina, Isle of Wight or Southampton counties, where the older, cheaper, dirtier-burning gas will still be available legally.
David L. Holland, president of Southern Oil Co. Inc. in Suffolk, received the price-hike news Monday via electronic mail from his bosses at Exxon. His 7-cent increase took effect just after midnight Tuesday.
Holland distributes gas to seven businesses in Suffolk and five outside the city.
``We think, for the short term, our locations in Suffolk are going to take a blood bath,'' said Holland. ``The fellow that's commuting every day to work through Suffolk will buy gas elsewhere.''
Holland said he could not recall a 7-cent increase in one night. The last major gasoline increase to hit this area was during the Persian Gulf War, he said. But even then, said Holland, ``I doubt there were any 7-cent increases in one day.''
``This,'' said Holland, ``is just the cost of cleaning up our environment.''
Dwight L. Farmer, director of transportation for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, said he, too, expects to see gas prices drop after the initial rise.
Paying an extra couple cents now could help save the region from stiff EPA sanctions later, he said.
Hampton Roads has had bad air for several years, according to the EPA.
But not by much. Over the last several years, the region barely exceeded the ozone standard by 1/100th of a part per million.
That's tight, said Farmer. ``This reformulated fuel could very easily make the difference,'' he said.
But if the region fails the air test again, the repercussions could be brutal.
The EPA could mandate inspection and maintenance programs and require mandatory car-pooling and parking restrictions. The region would be required not only to meet the standards, but actually to reduce hydrocarbon emissions by an additional 15 percent as well.
``It may be,'' said Farmer, ``that the extra couple cents for the new gasoline will, if it works, probably be the easy way out.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
PUMPED UP
For copy of graphic, see microfilm
KEYWORDS: GASOLINE PRICES
by CNB