By Leah Douglas
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has actually introduced examinations into the supply chains of at least two sustainable fuel producers in the middle of market concerns that some might be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect financially rewarding government aids.
EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the firm has actually released audits over the previous year, but declined to identify the companies targeted due to the fact that the investigations are ongoing.
The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a variety of state and federal environmental and environment aids, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have been mounting that some materials identified as used cooking oil are in fact more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is associated with logging and other environmental damage.
The issue entered focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia recently that experts have said involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise examining feedstocks over the fraud concerns.
The EPA audits started after the agency updated domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for eco-friendly fuel manufacturers seeking to earn credits under the RFS, he stated.
"EPA has actually performed audits of sustainable fuel producers since July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an examination of the locations that used cooking oil utilized in renewable fuel production was gathered," he said. "These examinations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are unable to discuss ongoing enforcement examinations."
U.S. senators from farm states have actually called for more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, saying ought to be as rigorous in confirming imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.
"The Biden administration has developed energetic requirements to validate, not simply trust, American manufacturers, and it is crucial that the exact 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 firms.
Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 urged 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)
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US EPA Says it is Auditing Biofuel Producers' Secondhand Cooking Oil Supply
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