By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually launched examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 eco-friendly fuel producers amidst industry issues that some might be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect rewarding government aids.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the firm has launched audits over the past year, however declined to determine the business targeted due to the fact that the investigations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like utilized cooking oil, can earn refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and environment aids, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have been installing that some materials identified as used cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is associated with deforestation and other environmental damage.

The problem entered focus following a surge in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia in the last few years that analysts have stated involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the region. The European Union is also examining feedstocks over the fraud concerns.

The EPA audits began after the company upgraded domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel producers seeking to earn credits under the RFS, he said.

"EPA has carried out audits of sustainable fuel manufacturers because July 2023 which includes, to name a few things, an assessment of the locations that used cooking oil utilized in renewable fuel production was collected," he said. "These investigations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are not able to discuss continuous enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually produced energetic standards to validate, not simply trust, American producers, and it is necessary that the very same analysis is used 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 urged the administration to leave out 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)