Step 7: Compliance Obligations
ISO 14001:2015 defines Compliance obligations as "legal requirements that an organization has to comply with and other requirements that an organization has to or chooses to comply with".
ISO 14001:2015
The Compliance Obligations Procedure describes how the organization gathers information, analyzed it, and identifies the requirements that apply to operations. Like other EMS procedures, it describes the who, what, where, when, why, and how for an activity.
Your company may be regulated primarily under the following acts:
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA): This law gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to control hazardous waste from the time it is created until it is properly disposed of. It includes the management of solid waste, hazardous waste, and underground storage tanks.
- Clean Air Act (CAA): This law regulates air emissions from industries, vehicles, and other sources to protect public health and the environment. It sets limits on air pollutants and requires the use of cleaner technologies to reduce harmful emissions.
- Clean Water Act (CWA): This law establishes the structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into U.S. waters. It also sets water quality standards to ensure that lakes, rivers, and streams are safe for drinking, swimming, fishing, and other uses.
You may also identify other requirements that your company voluntarily implements. For example, you may be required to adhere to the company's policy to implement pollution prevention, improve environmental performance through objectives and targets, and communicate with the public on your environmental management progress.
ISO 14001 does not contain a specific clause that requires unconditional compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. What is required is as follows:
- identify applicable laws and regulations,
- decide whether it is in compliance or noncompliance,
- for those areas where noncompliance exists, develop an action plan to correct noncompliance, and
- establish a system to maintain compliance.
A continued pattern of noncompliance may lead to nonconformance with ISO 14001 due to a lack of an adequate "system to maintain compliance". If the organization subscribes to any codes of practice or voluntary guidelines the Environmental Policy statement will also need to include these agreements.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
3-3. Which law regulates the control and proper disposal of hazardous waste?
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