By Leah Douglas
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually introduced examinations into the supply chains of at least two renewable fuel manufacturers amid industry issues that some may be utilizing deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect rewarding government subsidies.
EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the agency has actually released audits over the previous year, however decreased to recognize the companies targeted since the investigations are continuous.
The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like utilized cooking oil, can earn 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 fears have been installing that some materials labeled as utilized cooking oil are in fact less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is related to deforestation and other ecological damage.
The problem entered into focus following a rise in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia in recent years that experts have actually stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the region. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the fraud issues.
The EPA audits started 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 conducted audits of renewable fuel producers given that July 2023 which includes, to name a few things, an examination of the locations that utilized cooking oil utilized in eco-friendly fuel production was collected," he said. "These examinations, however, are ongoing and we are unable to go over ongoing enforcement examinations."
U.S. senators from farm states have actually called for more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, saying federal firms should be as strenuous in validating imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.
"The Biden administration has produced vigorous standards to validate, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is vital that the same analysis 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 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)