By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually introduced examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 renewable fuel producers amid industry concerns that some might be using deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to protect profitable federal government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the firm has actually launched audits over the previous year, but declined to determine the companies targeted since the investigations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a slew of state and federal ecological and environment subsidies, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have actually been mounting that some supplies labeled as utilized cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is related to deforestation and other environmental damage.

The concern came into focus following a surge in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that experts have said involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the area. The European Union is also examining feedstocks over the scams concerns.

The EPA audits began after the agency updated domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel manufacturers looking for to under the RFS, he said.

"EPA has carried out audits of eco-friendly fuel manufacturers because July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an assessment of the places that utilized cooking oil used in eco-friendly fuel production was gathered," he stated. "These examinations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are unable to discuss continuous enforcement investigations."

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

"The Biden administration has produced energetic requirements to validate, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is necessary that the exact same scrutiny is applied to imported feedstocks," 6 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 advised 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)