1 US EPA Says it is Auditing Biofuel Producers' Pre owned Cooking Oil Supply

Moses Alfonso edited this page 6 days ago

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 sustainable fuel manufacturers in the middle of industry issues that some might be using deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to protect rewarding government aids.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the firm has released audits over the past year, but decreased to determine the companies targeted due to the fact that the investigations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a variety of state and federal environmental and climate aids, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have been installing that some products labeled as used cooking oil are in fact less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is related to logging and other environmental damage.

The concern entered into focus following a rise in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that experts have actually stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the fraud concerns.

The EPA audits began after the firm upgraded domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for sustainable fuel producers seeking to earn credits under the RFS, he said.

"EPA has performed audits of eco-friendly fuel producers since July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an assessment of the areas that used cooking oil used in renewable fuel production was collected," he stated. "These examinations, however, are ongoing and we are unable to discuss ongoing enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has created vigorous requirements to validate, not simply trust, American producers, and it is imperative that the exact same examination is applied to imported feedstocks," 6 U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote in a June 20 letter to federal companies.

Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 advised the administration to exclude 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)