By Leah Douglas
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has
introduced investigations into the supply chains of at least two
renewable fuel producers in the middle of market issues that some may be using fraudulent feedstocks for
biodiesel to
secure rewarding federal government aids.
EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis
informed Reuters that the company has
introduced audits over the previous year, but decreased to determine the companies targeted since the examinations are ongoing.
The production of
biodiesel from sustainable components, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a
multitude of state and federal environmental and climate aids, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have been installing that some
materials identified as used cooking oil are in fact cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a
product that is connected with
deforestation and other ecological damage.
The concern entered focus following a surge in used
cooking oil exports from Asia in the last few years that analysts have said includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil used and recovered in the region. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the fraud issues.
The EPA audits started after the agency 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 performed audits of eco-friendly fuel manufacturers considering that July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an evaluation of the areas that utilized cooking oil utilized in eco-friendly fuel production was collected," he stated. "These examinations, however, are continuous and we are unable to talk about continuous enforcement investigations."
U.S. senators from farm states have actually called for more oversight of
biofuel feedstocks, saying federal agencies must be as extensive in confirming imports as they are auditing
domestic supply chains.
"The Biden administration has created energetic standards to confirm, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is imperative that the exact same examination is used to imported feedstocks," 6 U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, composed in a June 20 letter to federal firms.
Another letter from 15 senators to the
Treasury Department on July 30 prompted the administration to omit imported feedstocks like UCO from an
extra tidy fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and
Matthew Lewis)
