By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has actually released examinations into the supply chains of at least 2 sustainable fuel producers amid industry concerns that some may be utilizing deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect profitable government subsidies.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the company has actually introduced audits over the past year, however declined to recognize the business targeted because the investigations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a multitude of state and federal environmental and climate subsidies, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have been mounting that some materials labeled as used cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is related to deforestation and other environmental damage.

The issue entered focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia recently that experts have actually stated 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 concerns.

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

"EPA has conducted audits of renewable fuel manufacturers considering that July 2023 which includes, to name a few things, an evaluation of the areas that used cooking oil utilized in sustainable fuel production was collected," he said. "These investigations, however, are continuous and we are not able to talk about ongoing enforcement investigations."

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

"The Biden administration has created energetic requirements to verify, not simply trust, American manufacturers, and it is imperative that the very 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 prompted the administration to omit 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)