By Leah Douglas
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has actually launched examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of two eco-friendly fuel producers in the middle of market concerns that some might be using fraudulent feedstocks for biodiesel to protect financially rewarding federal government subsidies.
EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the agency has actually introduced audits over the previous year, but declined to recognize the companies targeted because the investigations are ongoing.
The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a multitude of state and federal ecological and environment aids, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have actually been mounting that some supplies labeled as used cooking oil are in fact more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is related to deforestation and other ecological damage.
The issue entered focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia in recent years that analysts have said includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise examining feedstocks over the fraud issues.
The EPA audits began after the agency updated domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel manufacturers seeking to earn credits under the RFS, he said.
"EPA has actually performed audits of sustainable fuel manufacturers since July 2023 which includes, to name a few things, an examination of the places that used cooking oil used in eco-friendly fuel production was gathered," he stated. "These examinations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are not able to talk about ongoing enforcement investigations."
U.S. senators from farm states have called for more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, saying federal companies ought to be as strenuous in verifying imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.
"The Biden administration has actually produced vigorous requirements to verify, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is important that the very same examination is applied to imported feedstocks," six U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote in a June 20 letter to federal firms.
Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 advised the administration to omit imported feedstocks like UCO from an additional clean fuel tax credit passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)
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US EPA Says it is Auditing Biofuel Producers' Pre owned Cooking Oil Supply
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