By Leah Douglas
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has introduced investigations into the supply chains of a minimum of two renewable fuel producers amidst industry issues that some may be using fraudulent feedstocks for biodiesel to protect profitable federal government subsidies.
EPA representative Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the company has released audits over the past year, but decreased to determine the companies targeted due to the fact that the examinations are continuous.
The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a multitude of state and federal environmental and environment subsidies, consisting of tradable credits under a by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have been mounting that some supplies identified as utilized cooking oil are actually more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is related to deforestation and other environmental damage.
The concern entered into focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia recently that analysts have actually stated involves 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 started after the agency upgraded domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for eco-friendly fuel producers seeking to earn credits under the RFS, he stated.
"EPA has actually performed audits of eco-friendly fuel manufacturers because July 2023 that includes, among other things, an evaluation of the areas that used cooking oil utilized in eco-friendly fuel production was gathered," he stated. "These examinations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are unable to go over ongoing enforcement investigations."
U.S. senators from farm states have required more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, saying federal companies should be as extensive in verifying imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.
"The Biden administration has actually developed energetic standards to confirm, not simply trust, American producers, and it is important that the same analysis is used to imported feedstocks," six U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote in a June 20 letter to federal companies.
Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 prompted the administration to omit imported feedstocks like UCO from an extra clean fuel tax credit program 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' used Cooking Oil Supply
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