Assessing Compliance
Stated in your environmental policy is a commitment to comply with environmental regulatory requirements that apply to your organization’s operations and activities. In Plan - Phase II you identified your environmental aspects and impacts and analyzed them for applicable environmental regulatory requirements. Once these requirements are known you then put in place programs and/or controls to ensure you meet them. The next step in this process, under Monitoring and Measuring, requires that you periodically evaluate your compliance with these regulations.
You should have a documented process for assessing your compliance status on a regular basis. There are plenty of resources available that can help you in this effort:
- The U.S. EPA Office of Compliance has numerous tools available through its National Compliance Assistance Clearinghouse
- Local Government Environmental Assistance Network - a "first-stop shop" providing environmental management, planning, and regulatory information for local governments