By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has released examinations into the supply chains of a minimum of 2 sustainable fuel producers amid industry issues that some might be utilizing deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to secure rewarding government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the firm has introduced audits over the previous year, but declined to identify the companies targeted because the investigations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable active ingredients, like used cooking oil, can earn refiners a slew of state and federal ecological and environment aids, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have been mounting that some supplies identified as utilized cooking oil are actually more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is associated with deforestation and other environmental damage.

The concern entered focus following a surge in used cooking oil exports from Asia in the last few years that analysts have stated involves unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the scams concerns.

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

"EPA has conducted audits of sustainable fuel producers since July 2023 which includes, to name a few things, an examination of the locations that utilized cooking oil used in eco-friendly fuel production was collected," he stated. "These investigations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are not able to talk about continuous enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually developed vigorous standards to verify, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is necessary that the same analysis 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 omit imported feedstocks like UCO from an extra clean fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)