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

Belinda Guillory edited this page 2025-01-11 20:35:17 +00:00

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released investigations into the supply chains of at least 2 renewable fuel producers amidst market issues that some might be using deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to protect lucrative federal government aids.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the agency has actually released audits over the past year, but declined to recognize the business targeted because the examinations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like utilized cooking oil, can make refiners a slew of state and federal environmental and climate aids, consisting of 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 utilized cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is connected with logging and other environmental damage.

The issue entered 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 used and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the scams issues.

The EPA audits began after the firm 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 actually performed audits of sustainable fuel producers given that July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an evaluation of the places that used cooking oil utilized in sustainable fuel production was gathered," he said. "These investigations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are not able to talk about ongoing enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually created vigorous standards to verify, not simply trust, American producers, and it is imperative that the exact same analysis is applied to imported feedstocks," six 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 additional tidy fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)