US EPA says it’s auditing biofuel producers used cooking oil provide – Reuters.
The U.S. Environmental Safety Company has launched investigations into the availability chains of a minimum of two renewable gas producers amid business issues that some could also be utilizing fraudulent feedstocks for biodiesel to safe profitable authorities subsidies.
EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis instructed Reuters that the company has launched audits over the previous 12 months, however declined to determine the businesses focused as a result of the investigations are ongoing.
The manufacturing of biodiesel from sustainable substances, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a slew of state and federal environmental and local weather subsidies, together with tradable credit below a program administered by the EPA referred to as the Renewable Gas Customary. However fears have been mounting that some provides labeled as used cooking oil are literally cheaper and fewer sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that’s related to deforestation and different environmental injury.
The difficulty got here into focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia in recent times that analysts have stated entails unrealistically excessive volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recovered within the area. The European Union is additionally investigating feedstocks over the fraud issues.
The EPA audits started after the company up to date home supply-chain accounting necessities in July 2023 for renewable gas producers searching for to earn credit below the RFS, he stated.
Jeffrey Landis, stated:
EPA has performed audits of renewable gas producers since July 2023 which incorporates, amongst different issues, an analysis of the areas that used cooking oil utilized in renewable gas manufacturing was collected.
“These investigations, nonetheless, are ongoing and we aren’t capable of talk about ongoing enforcement investigations.”
U.S. senators from farm states have referred to as for extra oversight of biofuel feedstocks, saying federal companies must be as rigorous in verifying imports as they’re auditing home provide chains.
“The Biden administration has created vigorous requirements to confirm, not simply belief, American producers, and it’s crucial that the identical scrutiny is utilized to imported feedstocks,” six U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote in a June 20 letter to federal companies.
One other letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Division on July 30 urged the administration to exclude imported feedstocks like UCO from an extra clear gas tax credit score program handed within the Inflation Discount Act.
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US EPA says it’s auditing biofuel producers used cooking oil provide – Reuters. supply
