By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually introduced investigations into the supply chains of at least 2 renewable fuel producers in the middle of industry concerns that some might be using deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to secure financially rewarding government aids.

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

The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and climate subsidies, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have actually been installing that some materials identified as utilized cooking oil are in fact cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is related to deforestation and other ecological damage.

The problem entered into focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia in the last few years that experts have said involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recovered in the region. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the scams concerns.

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

"EPA has performed audits of renewable fuel manufacturers given that July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an assessment of the places that used cooking oil utilized in eco-friendly fuel production was collected," he said. "These examinations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are not able to talk about ongoing enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually developed energetic standards to verify, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is essential that the same analysis is used to imported feedstocks," six U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, composed in a June 20 letter to federal agencies.

Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 urged the administration to omit 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)