By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has released investigations into the supply chains of a minimum of two sustainable fuel producers amidst industry concerns that some may be using deceptive feedstocks for biodiesel to protect financially rewarding federal government subsidies.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the company has actually launched audits over the past year, but decreased to identify the companies targeted because the examinations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable ingredients, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a variety of state and federal ecological and climate aids, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have actually been installing that some supplies identified as utilized cooking oil are really more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is related to deforestation and other ecological damage.

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

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

"EPA has actually performed audits of eco-friendly fuel producers since July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an examination of the areas that used cooking oil used in eco-friendly fuel production was collected," he said. "These examinations, nevertheless, are ongoing and we are not able to talk about ongoing enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has created energetic requirements to validate, not just trust, American manufacturers, and it is crucial that the very same examination is used 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 advised the administration to leave out imported feedstocks like UCO from an extra tidy fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)