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

Tobias Llewelyn edited this page 2025-01-12 10:47:04 +08:00

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has actually introduced investigations into the supply chains of at least 2 eco-friendly fuel manufacturers amidst industry concerns that some may be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to secure profitable government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the agency has actually launched audits over the previous year, however decreased to determine the companies targeted due to the fact that the investigations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and climate aids, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have actually been mounting that some supplies labeled as used cooking oil are actually more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is associated with deforestation and other .

The issue came into focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that experts have stated involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recuperated in the region. The European Union is likewise examining 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 producers seeking to make credits under the RFS, he stated.

"EPA has actually carried out audits of renewable fuel producers considering that July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an evaluation of the areas that used cooking oil used in sustainable fuel production was collected," he said. "These examinations, however, are continuous and we are unable to talk about ongoing enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually created vigorous requirements to confirm, not simply trust, American manufacturers, and it is crucial that the very same analysis is applied to imported feedstocks," 6 U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, composed in a June 20 letter to federal firms.

Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 urged 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)