1 US EPA Says it is Auditing Biofuel Producers' used Cooking Oil Supply

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By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually released examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 renewable fuel manufacturers amidst market issues that some may be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect rewarding federal government aids.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the company has introduced audits over the past year, however decreased to identify the business targeted due to the fact that the examinations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and environment aids, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have been mounting that some supplies labeled as utilized cooking oil are in fact cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is connected with deforestation and other ecological damage.

The concern entered into focus following a rise in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that have said includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recuperated in the area. The European Union is also examining feedstocks over the fraud issues.

The EPA audits began after the company upgraded domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for sustainable fuel manufacturers seeking to earn credits under the RFS, he said.

"EPA has performed audits of eco-friendly fuel producers since July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an evaluation of the places that utilized cooking oil utilized in renewable fuel production was collected," he said. "These examinations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are unable to talk about continuous enforcement examinations."

U.S. senators from farm states have called for more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, saying federal companies need to be as extensive in confirming imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.

"The Biden administration has actually developed energetic requirements to confirm, not simply trust, American manufacturers, and it is crucial that the very same examination is used to imported feedstocks," 6 U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, composed in a June 20 letter to federal firms.

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 tidy fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)