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

Maxwell Stout edited this page 2025-01-14 07:52:34 +00:00

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has actually launched examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of two renewable fuel producers amid industry concerns that some may be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to secure profitable federal government subsidies.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the agency has introduced audits over the previous year, however declined to determine the companies targeted because the examinations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a multitude 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 mounting that some materials identified as used cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is related to deforestation and other ecological damage.

The concern entered into focus following a rise in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that experts have stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil used and recovered in the area. The European Union is likewise examining feedstocks over the scams concerns.

The EPA audits started after the company updated domestic requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel producers seeking to make credits under the RFS, he said.

"EPA has actually carried out audits of sustainable fuel manufacturers given that July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an examination of the places that utilized cooking oil used in sustainable fuel production was gathered," he said. "These examinations, however, are continuous and we are unable to discuss ongoing enforcement investigations."

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

"The Biden administration has developed vigorous standards to confirm, not simply trust, American manufacturers, and it is vital that the exact same examination 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 advised the administration to leave out imported feedstocks like UCO from an extra clean fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)