By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has released examinations into the supply chains of at least two renewable fuel manufacturers in the middle of market issues that some may be utilizing deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to protect lucrative federal government aids.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis informed Reuters that the agency has actually released audits over the previous year, however decreased to identify the companies targeted because the investigations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like utilized cooking oil, can make 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 been mounting that some products labeled as utilized cooking oil are really less expensive and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is associated with deforestation and other ecological damage.

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

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

"EPA has conducted audits of sustainable fuel producers given that July 2023 which consists of, to name a few things, an examination of the locations that used cooking oil used in sustainable fuel production was collected," he stated. "These examinations, however, are continuous and we are not able to go over ongoing enforcement investigations."

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

"The Biden administration has actually developed energetic standards to validate, not simply trust, American producers, and it is crucial that the same examination is used to imported feedstocks," 6 U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, wrote in a June 20 letter to federal agencies.

Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 urged the administration to leave out 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)