NRC CONSIDERING REQUEST BY NEW JERSEY 

TO BECOME AN “AGREEMENT STATE” 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering a request from New Jersey Gov. Jon 

S. Corzine to assume part of the NRC’s regulatory authority over certain nuclear materials in the 

state. If the request is accepted, New Jersey will become the 37th state to sign such an agreement 

with the NRC. 

Under the proposed agreement, the NRC would transfer to New Jersey the responsibility 

for licensing, rulemaking, inspection and enforcement activities for: (1) radioactive materials 

produced as byproducts from the production or utilization of special nuclear material (SNM-- 

enriched uranium or plutonium); (2) naturally occurring or accelerator-produced byproduct 

material (NARM); (3) source material (uranium and thorium); (4) SNM in quantities not 

sufficient to support a nuclear chain reaction; and (5) the regulation of the land disposal of 

source, byproduct, and SNM received from other persons. 

If the proposed agreement is approved, the NRC would transfer an estimated 500 licenses 

for radioactive material to New Jersey’s jurisdiction. New Jersey would retain regulatory 

authority over approximately 500 NARM licensees, including 300 who also hold NRC licenses. 

These licensees would have their NRC and New Jersey licenses combined into a single state 

license. In total, New Jersey would then have jurisdiction over approximately 700 licenses. 

By law, NRC would retain jurisdiction over commercial nuclear power plants and federal 

agencies using certain nuclear material in the state. In addition, NRC would retain authority for: 

(1) the review, evaluation and approval of sealed radioactive materials and devices containing 

certain nuclear materials; and (2) the regulation of the tailings and other wastes from uranium 

milling within New Jersey. 

Before entering into the agreement, the NRC must determine that New Jersey’s radiation 

control program is adequate to protect public health and safety, and is compatible with the 

agency’s own program for regulating the radioactive materials covered in the agreement. 

 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 09-092 May 26, 2009
The proposed agreement and the NRC staff’s draft assessment of the New Jersey 

program will be published for public comment May 27 in the Federal Register, and repeated 

weekly for a total of four weeks. Comments should be sent to Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rules 

Review and Directives Branch, Division of Freedom of Information and Publications Services, 

Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. 

Copies of the proposed agreement, the governor’s request and supporting documents, as 

well as the NRC staff’s assessment are available through the NRC’s Agency-wide Documents 

Access and Management System (ADAMS). Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting 

the NRC Public Document Room staff at 301-415-4737 or 1-800-397-4209, or by sending an email message to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. These documents are also available for public 

inspection at the NRC Public Document Room at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. 

Thirty-six other states have previously signed similar agreements with the NRC. They 

are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, 

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, 

Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, 

Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, 

Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. 

More information about the Agreement State program is available on the NRC’s Web site 

at: http://nrc-stp.ornl.gov/. 

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