By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually released investigations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 renewable fuel manufacturers in the middle of industry issues that some might be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to secure lucrative government aids.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the company has introduced audits over the previous year, however declined to determine the business targeted due to the fact that the investigations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like utilized cooking oil, can make refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and climate aids, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have been mounting that some materials identified as used cooking oil are in fact more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is connected with logging and other ecological damage.

The concern came into focus following a surge in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia in the last few years that experts have stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil utilized and recovered in the area. The European Union is also investigating feedstocks over the scams issues.

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

"EPA has carried out audits of renewable fuel manufacturers considering that July 2023 which includes, to name a few things, an examination of the areas that used cooking oil used in sustainable fuel production was gathered," he stated. "These examinations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are not able to discuss continuous enforcement investigations."

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

"The Biden administration has developed vigorous standards to confirm, not simply trust, American manufacturers, and it is important that the very same scrutiny is applied to imported feedstocks," 6 U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, composed in a June 20 letter to federal companies.

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