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 at least two sustainable fuel manufacturers amidst industry concerns that some might be using deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to secure profitable government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the company has launched audits over the past year, however decreased to recognize the companies targeted because the examinations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like utilized cooking oil, can make refiners a variety of state and federal environmental and climate aids, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have actually been mounting that some materials labeled as used cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is related to logging and other ecological damage.

The problem entered into focus following a surge in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia recently that analysts have said includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recovered 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 make credits under the RFS, he stated.

"EPA has actually performed audits of eco-friendly fuel producers because July 2023 which includes, among other things, an assessment of the locations that used cooking oil utilized in sustainable fuel production was collected," he stated. "These investigations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are unable to go over ongoing enforcement investigations."

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

"The Biden administration has created vigorous requirements to confirm, not just trust, American producers, and it is necessary that the exact same examination is used to imported feedstocks," six U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Brown, wrote 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 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)