ENERGY

Farmers Win in Fuel Ruling: The Environmental Protection Agency, keeping one of President Clinton’s campaign promises to the Farm Belt, cleared the way for farmers to reap millions of dollars from the introduction of a cleaner-burning gasoline. The new oxygenated fuel will be required beginning in January in the nation’s smoggiest cities. The EPA said it will require that 15% of the oxygenate--rising to 30% in the second year--be from a renewable source, in effect, corn-based ethanol. For now, ethanol is the only renewable fuel that can be produced in the volume needed to meet the clean gasoline goals, officials conceded. Such a market share for ethanol could mean as much as $1.5 billion a year to farmers and related businesses, including ethanol manufacturers, according to the American Farm Bureau.