Contents

•	 NRC Mission

•	 NRC Headquarters and 

Regional Offices

•	 State Liaison Officer Program

•	 State Liaison Officer	 	 	

Responsibilities

•	 NRC State Liaison Officer

Interactions

•	 NRC Organizational Values

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

STATE LIAISON OFFICER PROGRAM

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington,DC 20555-0001

1-800-368-5642

www.nrc.gov
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission Mission

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 

was established as an independent regulatory agency 

by Congress in 1974 to oversee and regulate the 

safe use of radioactive materials for beneficial 

civilian purposes, while ensuring that people and 

the environment are protected. The NRC regulates commercial nuclear power plants and other 

uses of nuclear material, such as medical and 

industrial uses of radioactive material and sources, 

research and test reactors, and uranium recovery 

facilities, through licensing, inspection and enforcement of its requirements. The NRC’s 

cooperative relationship with States is essential 

to accomplishing the agency’s mission, and 

Governor-appointed State Liaison Officers 

(SLOs) serve a vital role in communications 

between the NRC and States. 

NRC Headquarters and

Regional Offices

In addition to its Headquarters in Rockville, MD, 

the NRC has four regional offices located in King 

of Prussia, PA, Atlanta, GA, Lisle, IL, and 

Arlington, TX.  The NRC maintains an operations 

center that coordinates NRC communications 

with its licensees, State Agencies, and other Federal agencies in response to events at commercial 

nuclear power plants and all other NRC licensed 

facilities.  NRC operations officers staff the operations center 24 hours a day.  Additional information about NRC and its activities can be accessed 

at www.nrc.gov.

State Liaison Officer Program

In 1976, the NRC adopted a recommendation from 

several State organizations, including the National 

Governors Association, that each State Governor 

appoint a single person to act as a liaison to the 

NRC to help improve cooperation and two-way 

communication. The NRC considers the SLO the 

primary communication channel between the States 

and NRC.

State Liaison Officer Responsibilities

The SLO serves as the key intermediary between 

the States and the NRC in providing vital information regarding nuclear regulation, nuclear security, 

and related radiological public health and safety issues. The SLO provides the NRC with information 

on specific issues, such as State radiological health, 

emergency preparedness, public utility commission 

actions, and State nuclear safety agency matters, as 

needed. The SLO also serves as the primary State 

contact for all requests involving observation of 

NRC regulated nuclear power plant and facility 

inspections and acts as the NRC’s primary contact 

with the States regarding all relevant decisions 

and actions. The SLOs possess diverse backgrounds 

and qualifications and work for State agencies that 

are concerned primarily with protecting public 

health. The designated agency for each State may 

vary from State to State.

NRC State Liaison Interactions

The NRC keeps the SLOs informed on matters of 

interest to the States, responds in a timely manner

to State requests for information, and acknowledges

State recommendations concerning matters 

within the NRC’s regulatory jurisdiction. The 

NRC Regional State Liaison Officers (RSLOs) 

serve as the primary NRC point of contact for 

Governor-appointed SLOs. The RSLOs deliver 

timely information to the SLOs on NRC activities 

through ongoing dialogue and communication. 

The RSLOs provide SLOs with a variety of NRC 

documents, including press releases, preliminary 

notifications, proposed rules and policy statements, 

draft environmental assessments, and enforcement 

notifications. The RSLOs also solicit SLO participation in NRC public meetings and workshops 

as well as inform them of other opportunities for 

stakeholder involvement and input.

NRC Organizational Values

The NRC Organizational Values are Integrity, 

Service, Openness, Commitment, Cooperation, 

Excellence, and Respect. The NRC staff strives to 

adhere to these values while performing 

mission-related activities and working with 

Governor-appointed SLOs. The SLOs demonstrate a similar commitment to these values 

during interactions with the NRC, and continue to 

enhance the relationships between the States and 

the NRC.

Figure 2. NRC Regions

Region II

PA

NY

ME

IN

WA

OR

CA

NV

MT

ID

UT

AZ NM 

CO

WY

TX

OK

KS

NE

SD

ND MN

IA

MO

AR

LA

MS AL GA

FL

SC

NC

VA

TN

KY

IL OH

MI

WI

WV MD

DE

NJ

CT RI

MA

NH VT

AK

HI

Headquarters (1)

Regional Office (4)

Technical Training Center (1)

High-Level Waste Management Office (1)

Region I Region IV Region III

Nuclear Power Plants

Each region oversees the plants in their region except the Grand Gulf plant in 

Mississippi and Callaway plant in Missouri which Region IV oversees.

Material Licensees

Region I oversees Region I and Region II licensees.

Region III oversees Region III, Missouri, and all Federal facilities licensees.

Region IV oversees Region IV except Missouri licensees.

Nuclear Fuel Processing Facilities

Region II oversees all the fuel processing facilities in the region and those in Illinois, 

New Mexico and Washington.

In addition, Region II handles all construction inspectors’ activities for new nuclear 

power plants and fuel cycle facilities in all regions.

Source: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

PR

US VI