By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has actually released investigations into the supply chains of at least 2 renewable fuel producers in the middle of market concerns that some might be using deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to protect lucrative government aids.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the company has introduced audits over the previous year, however decreased to recognize the business targeted because the examinations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a multitude of state and federal ecological and environment subsidies, consisting of tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel . But worries have actually been mounting that some products labeled as utilized cooking oil are actually more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is connected with logging and other environmental damage.

The issue entered into focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia in the last few years that analysts have stated includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil utilized and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise examining feedstocks over the fraud issues.

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

"EPA has actually carried out audits of sustainable fuel manufacturers given that July 2023 which includes, among other things, an evaluation of the locations that utilized cooking oil used in renewable fuel production was gathered," he said. "These examinations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are not able to discuss ongoing enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually produced vigorous requirements to validate, not simply trust, American producers, and it is vital that the same analysis is applied to imported feedstocks," six U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote in a June 20 letter to federal firms.

Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 prompted 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)