By Leah Douglas
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has released investigations into the supply chains of at least 2 sustainable fuel manufacturers amidst industry concerns that some might be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to secure financially rewarding federal government subsidies.
EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told that the agency has introduced audits over the past year, but decreased to determine the business targeted because the investigations are continuous.
The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a variety of state and federal ecological 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 utilized cooking oil are actually less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is related to deforestation and other environmental damage.
The issue came into focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia in recent years 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 investigating feedstocks over the fraud concerns.
The EPA audits began after the company updated domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel manufacturers looking for to make credits under the RFS, he said.
"EPA has performed audits of renewable fuel producers because July 2023 which consists of, among other things, an evaluation of the areas that used cooking oil utilized in sustainable fuel production was gathered," he stated. "These investigations, however, are continuous and we are unable to talk about continuous enforcement investigations."
U.S. senators from farm states have required more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, saying federal agencies ought to be as rigorous in validating imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.
"The Biden administration has actually produced energetic requirements to verify, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is imperative that the exact same examination is applied to imported feedstocks," six 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 advised the administration to exclude 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)
1
US EPA Says it is Auditing Biofuel Producers' used Cooking Oil Supply
roslyndanforth edited this page 1 week ago