By Leah Douglas
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released investigations into the supply chains of at least 2 sustainable fuel producers amidst industry concerns that some may be utilizing deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to secure lucrative government aids.
EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the company has actually released audits over the previous year, but decreased to recognize the companies targeted due to the fact that the examinations are ongoing.
The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and climate subsidies, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have actually been installing that some products labeled as used cooking oil are actually cheaper 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 over the last few years that analysts have actually stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil used and recovered in the region. The European Union is likewise examining feedstocks over the scams issues.
The EPA audits began after the firm updated domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel manufacturers seeking to make credits under the RFS, he said.
"EPA has actually conducted audits of renewable fuel producers considering that July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an evaluation of the locations that used cooking oil utilized in sustainable fuel production was gathered," he said. "These examinations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are unable to talk about continuous enforcement investigations."
U.S. senators from farm states have required more oversight of feedstocks, saying federal firms need to be as extensive in confirming imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.
"The Biden administration has produced vigorous standards to verify, not simply trust, American producers, and it is imperative that the exact same examination is applied to imported feedstocks," 6 U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote in a June 20 letter to federal firms.
Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 prompted the administration to exclude 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)
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US EPA Says it is Auditing Biofuel Producers' Secondhand Cooking Oil Supply
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