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By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually introduced investigations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 eco-friendly fuel producers amidst industry concerns that some might be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect rewarding government aids.

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

The production of biodiesel from ingredients, like utilized cooking oil, can make refiners a variety 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 worries have actually been installing that some materials labeled as used cooking oil are really cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is associated with logging and other environmental damage.

The problem entered into focus following a surge in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia recently that experts have stated involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil utilized and recovered in the area. The European Union is also examining feedstocks over the fraud concerns.

The EPA audits began after the company upgraded domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel producers looking for to make credits under the RFS, he stated.

"EPA has actually conducted audits of eco-friendly fuel manufacturers since July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an examination of the places that utilized cooking oil utilized in eco-friendly fuel production was collected," he said. "These examinations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are not able to go over ongoing enforcement examinations."

U.S. senators from farm states have called for more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, stating federal agencies need to be as rigorous in confirming imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.

"The Biden administration has developed vigorous standards to confirm, not simply trust, American manufacturers, and it is crucial that the very 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 companies.

Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 prompted the administration to leave out 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)