By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has introduced examinations into the supply chains of at least two renewable fuel producers in the middle of that some might be utilizing deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to protect financially rewarding federal government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the firm has actually launched audits over the previous year, but declined to determine the business targeted due to the fact that the examinations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, 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 fears have actually been mounting that some supplies labeled as used cooking oil are in fact less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is related to logging and other ecological damage.

The concern came into focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia recently that analysts have said includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil used and recovered in the region. The European Union is likewise examining feedstocks over the scams issues.

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

"EPA has conducted audits of renewable fuel producers given that July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an assessment of the places that utilized cooking oil used in renewable fuel production was gathered," he said. "These investigations, however, are ongoing and we are unable to go over ongoing enforcement investigations."

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

"The Biden administration has developed vigorous standards to confirm, not simply trust, American producers, and it is essential that the exact same examination is used to imported feedstocks," 6 U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote 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 additional tidy fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)