By Leah Douglas
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually released examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of two sustainable fuel producers amidst market concerns that some might be utilizing fraudulent feedstocks for biodiesel to secure financially rewarding federal government subsidies.
EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the firm has introduced audits over the past year, however declined to determine the companies targeted because the examinations are ongoing.
The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like oil, can make refiners a multitude of state and federal ecological and climate aids, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have been installing that some materials labeled as used cooking oil are really cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is connected with logging and other environmental damage.
The issue entered focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that analysts have stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the region. The European Union is also examining feedstocks over the fraud concerns.
The EPA audits began after the company updated domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for sustainable fuel producers seeking to earn credits under the RFS, he stated.
"EPA has actually carried out audits of eco-friendly fuel producers because July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an examination of the areas that used cooking oil used in renewable fuel production was gathered," he stated. "These examinations, however, are ongoing and we are not able to discuss continuous enforcement examinations."
U.S. senators from farm states have called for more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, saying federal firms need to be as extensive in confirming imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.
"The Biden administration has actually created vigorous standards to validate, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is important that the very same examination is applied to imported feedstocks," 6 U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, composed in a June 20 letter to federal agencies.
Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 prompted the administration to leave out imported feedstocks like UCO from an additional 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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