ENERGY

Some Eastern Counties Opt Out of Reformulated Gasoline: Changing their minds, 28 Pennsylvania counties and one county in New York state will not have to switch to federally mandated reformulated gasoline, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol M. Browner. The nine smoggiest metropolitan areas in the country, including Los Angeles, are required to use the cleaner-burning gasoline beginning Jan. 1. But another 20 less-smoggy areas, including these counties, had volunteered to make the switch too, as part of their state plans to meet federal Clean Air Act deadlines. The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry trade group, blasted the EPA for lending uncertainty to the transition, though it said the industry could adjust to the change in demand. An EPA spokeswoman said the agency expects more, not fewer, areas to choose to participate in the voluntary program once they understand it better.