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By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually introduced examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of two renewable fuel manufacturers amidst industry concerns that some may be utilizing deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect lucrative government subsidies.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the company has introduced audits over the previous year, but declined to determine the companies targeted due to the fact that the examinations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like cooking oil, can make refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and environment subsidies, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have been installing that some products identified as used cooking oil are in fact cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is related to deforestation and other ecological damage.

The issue came into focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that experts have actually stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recuperated in the region. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the scams concerns.

The EPA audits started after the company updated domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel producers seeking to earn credits under the RFS, he said.

"EPA has carried out audits of sustainable fuel manufacturers because July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an assessment of the areas that used cooking oil utilized in eco-friendly fuel production was collected," he stated. "These investigations, however, are ongoing and we are not able to go over ongoing enforcement investigations."

U.S. senators from farm states have actually required 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 developed energetic requirements to confirm, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is important that the exact same examination is used to imported feedstocks," six U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote in a June 20 letter to federal companies.

Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 prompted the administration to exclude imported feedstocks like UCO from an additional clean fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)