By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has launched examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 renewable fuel manufacturers amid industry concerns that some might be utilizing deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect lucrative government aids.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the firm has actually introduced audits over the previous year, but declined to recognize the companies targeted due to the fact that the examinations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, 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 Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have been mounting that some materials labeled as used cooking oil are actually less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is associated with deforestation and other environmental damage.

The problem came into focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia recently that experts have actually said includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil used and recuperated in the region. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the scams concerns.

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

"EPA has carried out audits of eco-friendly fuel manufacturers since July 2023 which includes, to name a few things, an examination of the places that utilized cooking oil used in sustainable fuel production was collected," he stated. "These examinations, however, are ongoing and we are not able to talk about continuous enforcement investigations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually developed energetic standards to confirm, not simply trust, American manufacturers, and it is crucial that the exact same scrutiny 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 urged the administration to leave out 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)