By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually released investigations into the supply chains of at least two renewable fuel producers amid industry concerns that some might be utilizing deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect rewarding federal government subsidies.

EPA spokesperson Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the agency has launched audits over the past year, however decreased to determine the companies targeted due to the fact that the investigations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like utilized cooking oil, can earn refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and environment aids, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But worries have been mounting that some supplies identified as used cooking oil are actually cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is related to deforestation and other ecological damage.

The issue entered into focus following a rise in used cooking oil exports from Asia in recent years that analysts have said includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil utilized and recovered in the area. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the scams issues.

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

"EPA has performed audits of renewable fuel manufacturers because July 2023 which consists of, amongst other things, an assessment of the areas that utilized cooking oil utilized in sustainable fuel production was collected," he said. "These investigations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are unable to go over ongoing enforcement investigations."

U.S. senators from farm states have called for more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, stating federal firms ought to be as rigorous in validating imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.

"The Biden administration has actually produced vigorous requirements to confirm, not just trust, American producers, and it is necessary that the same analysis is used 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)