By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has released examinations into the supply chains of at least 2 sustainable fuel manufacturers amidst market concerns that some may be utilizing deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to secure profitable federal government aids.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the company has released audits over the past year, however declined to identify the companies targeted because the investigations are ongoing.

The production of biodiesel from ingredients, like utilized cooking oil, can make refiners a variety 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 materials labeled as utilized cooking oil are actually more affordable and less sustainable virgin palm oil, an item that is associated with deforestation and other ecological damage.

The concern came into focus following a surge in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia in recent years that experts have actually said includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the quantity of cooking oil used and recuperated in the area. The European Union is also examining feedstocks over the scams issues.

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

"EPA has actually conducted audits of renewable fuel manufacturers since July 2023 that includes, amongst other things, an evaluation of the locations that used cooking oil used in eco-friendly fuel production was collected," he stated. "These examinations, however, are ongoing and we are not able to discuss continuous enforcement examinations."

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

"The Biden administration has developed vigorous requirements to validate, not simply trust, American producers, and it is important that the very same scrutiny is used to imported feedstocks," six 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 exclude 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)