Tavares Group Blog

Ontario Government’s draft guideline proposes Environmental Management Systems reduce ‘Environmental Penalties’

The Ontario government has recently posted a proposed regulation on the Environmental Bill of Rights registry to implement ‘Environmental Penalties’. The “on the spot” fines, imposed by environmental inspectors, are a quicker and more flexible enforcement tool than Directors’ orders or prosecution. These are modeled on similar penalties that have long been available in the United States. Part of the proposal involves reducing the penalty amount for facilities that have an environmental management system (EMS) in place. Interestingly enough, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (1999) includes provisions allowing sentencing courts to take EMSs into account and even order convicted firms to implement EMSs.

The proposal details the elements of an EMS required to qualify for the environmental penalty “benefits”. Details are consistent with the ISO 14001 EMS standard but what will ensue when the Standard is revised and the regulation stays the same? There are four significant differences between ISO 14001 and the requirements of Ontario’s proposed environmental penalties regulation:

1. The Ontario government requires a commitment to “pollution prevention” rather than “prevention of pollution” addressed in ISO 14001 meaning that preference must be given to reduction at source rather than end of pipe control.

2. The proposal specifies that the EMS must be externally audited to qualify and that these external audits must be done every 3 years, contrary to the requirements of the Standard.

3. Internal audits and management review must be carried out annually, while ISO 14001 leaves the frequency of these up to the organization.

Those that implement an EMS as specified in the draft proposal will have environmental penalties reduced by 5%.

Public comment period ends 12 January 2007.

For more information, click here.

 

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