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

Simon Smyth edited this page 2025-03-07 01:46:25 +08:00

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has launched investigations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 eco-friendly fuel producers in the middle of market concerns that some may be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect financially rewarding federal government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the company has released audits over the previous year, however decreased to determine the business targeted since the investigations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like utilized cooking oil, can earn refiners a slew of state and federal environmental and environment subsidies, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have actually been mounting 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 environmental damage.

The concern entered focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that experts have stated involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise examining feedstocks over the fraud issues.

The EPA audits started after the agency upgraded domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel manufacturers seeking to earn credits under the RFS, he stated.

"EPA has actually conducted audits of sustainable fuel producers since July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an examination of the areas that utilized cooking oil used in sustainable fuel production was collected," he said. "These investigations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are not able to talk about ongoing enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually developed energetic requirements to confirm, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is imperative that the exact same examination is used 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 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)