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

Homer Landrum edited this page 4 months ago

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has released examinations into the supply chains of at least 2 renewable fuel producers amidst industry concerns that some might be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect profitable government aids.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the firm has actually introduced audits over the past year, but decreased to determine the business targeted since the investigations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and environment aids, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have actually been installing that some materials labeled as used cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is associated with deforestation and other ecological damage.

The concern entered into focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that experts have said involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil used and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the fraud issues.

The EPA audits began after the agency upgraded domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel manufacturers looking for to earn credits under the RFS, he stated.

"EPA has performed audits of sustainable fuel producers given that July 2023 that includes, amongst other things, an examination of the areas that utilized cooking oil used in eco-friendly fuel production was gathered," he said. "These examinations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are not able to discuss ongoing enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has created vigorous standards to validate, not simply trust, American producers, and it is imperative that the same analysis is used to imported feedstocks," 6 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 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)