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 launched investigations into the of a minimum of two renewable fuel manufacturers amid industry concerns that some may be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to secure rewarding government aids.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the agency has actually launched audits over the previous year, however decreased to determine the companies targeted because the examinations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like utilized cooking oil, can make refiners a slew of state and federal environmental and climate subsidies, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have actually been installing that some materials labeled as used cooking oil are actually less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is connected with deforestation and other environmental damage.

The problem came into focus following a surge in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia in the last few years that analysts have said involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the region. The European Union is likewise examining feedstocks over the fraud issues.

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

"EPA has actually carried out audits of renewable fuel manufacturers since July 2023 that includes, among other things, an evaluation of the locations that utilized cooking oil used in sustainable fuel production was collected," he stated. "These investigations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are not able to go over continuous enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually created energetic standards to confirm, not just trust, American producers, and it is crucial that the very same scrutiny 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 urged the administration to exclude 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)