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

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By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually released investigations into the supply chains of at least 2 eco-friendly fuel producers amid market issues that some may be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to secure rewarding federal government aids.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the firm has actually released audits over the previous year, but declined to determine the companies targeted because the investigations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and climate aids, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have actually been installing that some supplies identified as used cooking oil are really more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is connected with deforestation and other .

The problem came into focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that analysts have actually stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recuperated in the region. The European Union is also investigating feedstocks over the fraud concerns.

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

"EPA has carried out audits of eco-friendly fuel manufacturers given that July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an examination of the locations that utilized cooking oil used in eco-friendly fuel production was gathered," he said. "These investigations, however, are continuous and we are not able to go over ongoing enforcement examinations."

U.S. senators from farm states have actually called for more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, stating federal agencies should be as rigorous in validating imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.

"The Biden administration has actually developed vigorous standards to verify, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is vital that the very same analysis is used 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 omit 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)