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

Ila Permewan edited this page 2025-01-12 01:17:04 +08:00

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has actually launched investigations into the supply chains of at least 2 renewable fuel manufacturers amid market concerns that some might be utilizing deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect lucrative government aids.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the agency has actually launched audits over the past year, however declined to determine the companies targeted because the investigations are continuous.

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

The concern entered into focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that experts have actually stated involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the area. The European Union is also over the scams concerns.

The EPA audits began after the firm upgraded domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for sustainable fuel producers looking for to make credits under the RFS, he stated.

"EPA has actually carried out audits of renewable fuel manufacturers since July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an evaluation of the places that used cooking oil used in renewable fuel production was gathered," he stated. "These investigations, however, are ongoing and we are not able to talk about ongoing enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually produced energetic standards to confirm, not just trust, American producers, and it is necessary 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 prompted the administration to omit imported feedstocks like UCO from an extra tidy fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)