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 actually released investigations into the supply chains of at least 2 renewable fuel producers amidst market concerns that some might be using deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to secure rewarding federal government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the firm has launched audits over the previous year, but declined to determine the business targeted because the examinations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like utilized cooking oil, can make refiners a slew of state and federal ecological and climate aids, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have actually been mounting that some products identified as used cooking oil are actually cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is associated with deforestation and other ecological damage.

The problem came into focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that analysts have stated involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil utilized and recovered in the region. The European Union is also investigating feedstocks over the fraud concerns.

The EPA audits started after the agency updated domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for sustainable fuel manufacturers looking for to under the RFS, he stated.

"EPA has carried out audits of sustainable fuel manufacturers given that July 2023 which includes, among other things, an examination of the areas that utilized cooking oil utilized in renewable fuel production was collected," he stated. "These investigations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are not able to talk about ongoing enforcement investigations."

U.S. senators from farm states have required more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, saying federal companies should be as extensive in confirming imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.

"The Biden administration has actually created vigorous requirements to confirm, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is essential that the exact same scrutiny is used to imported feedstocks," six 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 advised the administration to omit 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)