Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Ethanol in Gasoline Effort Put on Hold

A federal appeals court temporarily blocked the Clinton Administration from mandating the use of ethanol in gasoline as part of its effort to clean up auto emissions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency may not have made a convincing case when it gave preference to ethanol as a gasoline additive in its renewable-fuels program. EPA officials said the requirements for cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline are still scheduled to go into effect in January, 1995, without the ethanol mandate. They said that other additives could be used to make the gasoline burn cleaner to improve air quality in line with the 1990 changes in the clean-air law.