By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has launched examinations into the supply chains of at least two sustainable fuel manufacturers in the middle of market concerns that some might be utilizing deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to secure rewarding government aids.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the firm has actually launched audits over the previous year, however decreased to recognize the companies targeted because the examinations are .

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a slew of state and federal ecological and climate subsidies, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have been installing that some materials identified as used cooking oil are actually cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is related to logging and other environmental damage.

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

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

"EPA has carried out audits of sustainable fuel producers considering that July 2023 which includes, among other things, an examination of the areas that used cooking oil used in renewable fuel production was collected," he said. "These examinations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are unable to discuss continuous enforcement investigations."

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

"The Biden administration has produced energetic requirements to validate, not simply trust, American producers, and it is crucial that the exact same examination is applied 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 urged the administration to exclude 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)