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

Polly Everhart edited this page 4 months ago

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually launched examinations into the supply chains of at least two eco-friendly fuel manufacturers amidst market issues that some might be utilizing deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to protect profitable federal government aids.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the company has actually introduced audits over the past year, but decreased 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 multitude of state and federal environmental and climate subsidies, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have actually been installing that some materials labeled as utilized cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is connected with deforestation and other ecological damage.

The problem entered into focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that analysts have actually stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of used and recovered in the region. The European Union is also investigating feedstocks over the scams issues.

The EPA audits began after the firm upgraded 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 performed audits of eco-friendly fuel producers considering that July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an evaluation of the locations that used cooking oil utilized in renewable fuel production was gathered," he stated. "These investigations, however, are continuous and we are unable to go over continuous enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has created energetic requirements to verify, not simply trust, American producers, and it is imperative that the same analysis is applied to imported feedstocks," 6 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 additional clean fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)