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

Alexander Echevarria edited this page 9 hours ago

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually introduced examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 renewable fuel manufacturers amid market concerns that some might be utilizing deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to secure profitable federal government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the company has actually launched audits over the past year, however declined to identify the business targeted because the examinations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like utilized 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 Standard. But fears have been installing that some materials labeled as used cooking oil are actually more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is related to deforestation and other ecological damage.

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

The EPA audits started after the company updated domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for sustainable fuel producers seeking to make credits under the RFS, he stated.

"EPA has actually performed audits of renewable fuel manufacturers because July 2023 that includes, amongst other things, an evaluation of the places that used cooking oil utilized in eco-friendly fuel production was gathered," he said. "These examinations, however, are continuous and we are unable to discuss ongoing enforcement investigations."

U.S. senators from farm states have 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 actually developed energetic requirements to confirm, not simply trust, American producers, and it is important that the exact same analysis is applied 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 prompted 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)