By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually released examinations into the supply chains of at least 2 eco-friendly fuel producers in the middle of market concerns that some might be using fraudulent feedstocks for biodiesel to secure rewarding government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the company has actually released audits over the past year, but decreased to determine the companies targeted because the investigations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a multitude of state and federal environmental and climate aids, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have actually been installing that some materials labeled as utilized cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is associated with logging and other ecological damage.

The concern entered focus following a rise in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia over the last few years that experts have stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise investigating 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 manufacturers seeking to make credits under the RFS, he said.

"EPA has performed audits of sustainable fuel producers because July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an examination of the areas that used cooking oil used in eco-friendly fuel production was collected," he stated. "These investigations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are unable to talk about continuous enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually developed energetic requirements to confirm, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is important that the exact same examination is applied to imported feedstocks," six U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, composed in a June 20 letter to federal agencies.

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