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. Environmental Protection Agency has launched examinations into the supply chains of at least two eco-friendly fuel producers in the middle of market issues that some may be using fraudulent feedstocks for biodiesel to secure financially rewarding government subsidies.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the firm has actually released audits over the past year, but declined to identify the companies targeted due to the fact that the examinations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a slew of state and federal ecological and environment subsidies, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have been mounting that some materials identified as used oil are actually more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is connected with logging and other environmental damage.

The problem entered into focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia recently that analysts have stated involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the region. The European Union is also examining feedstocks over the scams issues.

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

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

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

"The Biden administration has actually developed vigorous requirements to confirm, not simply trust, American manufacturers, and it is important that the same scrutiny 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 prompted 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)