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By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has released examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 renewable fuel producers amid industry issues that some might be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect profitable federal government aids.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the firm has introduced audits over the past 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 earn refiners a multitude of state and federal environmental and environment subsidies, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have actually been installing that some materials labeled as used cooking oil are really more affordable and less palm oil, an item that is associated with logging and other environmental damage.

The issue entered focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia in the last few years that analysts have actually stated involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil used and recovered in the region. The European Union is also investigating feedstocks over the scams concerns.

The EPA audits started after the company upgraded domestic supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for renewable fuel manufacturers looking for to make credits under the RFS, he stated.

"EPA has actually carried out audits of eco-friendly fuel producers since July 2023 which consists of, amongst other things, an examination of the locations that used cooking oil used in eco-friendly fuel production was collected," he said. "These examinations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are unable to go over continuous enforcement examinations."

U.S. senators from farm states have called for 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 actually created vigorous requirements to validate, not simply trust, American producers, and it is crucial that the same examination is applied to imported feedstocks," 6 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 advised the administration to leave out 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)