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

Daryl Campbell edited this page 2 days ago

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has actually launched examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 sustainable fuel producers amid industry issues that some may be utilizing deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to secure rewarding government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the company has launched audits over the previous year, but decreased to identify the business targeted because the examinations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a slew of state and federal environmental 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 products labeled as used cooking oil are really cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is connected with deforestation and other environmental damage.

The concern came into focus following a rise 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 used and recuperated in the region. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the fraud issues.

The EPA audits began after the company updated domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for eco-friendly fuel manufacturers looking for to earn credits under the RFS, he said.

"EPA has performed audits of eco-friendly fuel manufacturers given that July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an evaluation of the areas that utilized cooking oil utilized in renewable fuel production was collected," he stated. "These examinations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are not able to go over ongoing enforcement investigations."

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

"The Biden administration has developed vigorous standards to validate, not simply trust, American producers, and it is crucial that the exact same examination is applied to imported feedstocks," 6 U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote in a June 20 letter to federal agencies.

Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 prompted the administration to leave out imported feedstocks like UCO from an extra clean fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. ( by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)