STATE PROGRAMS AT

THE U.S. NUCLEAR

REGULATORY

COMMISSION

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission’s Mission

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was 

established by Congress in 1974 as an independent 

regulatory agency. The NRC licenses and regulates the 

Nation's civilian use of radioactive materials to protect 

public health and safety, promote the common defense 

and security, and protect the environment.

The NRC's Regulatory Mission covers three 

main areas:

Reactors 

Materials 

Waste 

Commercial reactors for generating electric 

power and research and test reactors used for research, 

testing, and training.

Uses of nuclear materials in medical, 

industrial, and academic settings and facilities that produce 

nuclear fuel.

Transportation, storage, and disposal of nuclear 

materials and waste, and decommissioning of nuclear 

facilities from service.

NRC Locations:

For Additional NRC Information see:

The agency's public Web site: 

State and Tribal Program page:

Emergency Preparedness and Response page:

The NRC's headquarters office is located in Rockville, 

MD, and its regional offices are located in King of 

Prussia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Lisle, IL; and Arlington, TX. 

http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/state-tribal.html

https://scp.nrc.gov/

http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/emerg-preparedness.html

http://www.nrc.gov

U.S.NRC

Protecting People and the Environment

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

NUREG/BR-0520, Rev. 1

October 2015

@NRCgov

You Blog
PR

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On the cover: photo at the top right of Limerick Nuclear Power Plant is courtesy of Exelon 

Nuclear, and photo at the top left of the portable nuclear gauge is courtesy of APNGA.

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The NRC's Interactions with States

The NRC is committed to working in collaboration with 

States. Through many State-focused policies and 

programs, the NRC strives to do the following:

Keep States informed on topics of mutual interest. 

Provide States with opportunities to participate in the 

NRC's regulatory processes.

Provide assistance to State activities when 

appropriate.

Maintain oversight when States assume regulatory 

authority from the NRC for specific radioactive 

materials and activities.

The NRC has dedicated staff members in its various 

offices who routinely interact with their State counterparts 

through meetings, conferences, and outreach activities. 

These activities include developing State-specific 

communications and participating in State organizations 

and national groups. Through these interactions, the 

NRC staff keeps the agency and the States informed of 

relevant activities, views, and interests to support 

ongoing cooperation.

Coordination on Emergency 

Preparedness and Incident Response

The NRC and the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency (FEMA) cooperate on radiological emergency 

planning and preparedness at NRC-licensed facilities. 

The responsibilities for each agency are outlined in a 

joint memorandum of understanding. FEMA has the lead 

responsibility for assessing State and local (offsite) 

emergency planning. FEMA reports the results of their 

assessments to the NRC, and the NRC factors these 

results into its decisionmaking processes. 

The NRC's Incident Response Program regularly 

coordinates with States by participating in licensee 

emergency preparedness exercises and by periodically 

inviting senior state officials to observe the NRC 

emergency exercises at its Headquarters Operations 

Center. In the unlikely event of an actual incident, the 

NRC would frequently communicate with the State and 

support the actions of State and local authorities.

Agreement State Program

Under the Agreement State Program, some States have 

signed formal agreements with the NRC that allow the State 

assume regulatory authority over certain types of radioactive 

material. The program was established in 1959, with the first 

agreement signed in 1962. Once a State signs such an 

agreement, it is commonly referred to as an Agreement 

State. Currently, there are 37 Agreement States.

The NRC provides support and assistance to Agreement 

States, which start when a State expresses interest to sign 

an agreement and continues after an agreement is signed. 

Although Agreement States assumes regulatory authority 

over some radioactive materials, the NRC interacts with and 

supports Agreement States through some of the following 

actions:

Sponsors and conducts technical training courses and 

workshops.

Evaluates State regulatory changes to ensure 

compatibility with NRC requirements.

Provides opportunities for early and substantive 

involvement in NRC rulemaking and other regulatory 

efforts. 

While the NRC relinquishes regulatory authority, the agency 

still maintains an oversight role by conducting periodic 

reviews of Agreement State programs. This is accomplished 

through the NRC's Integrated Materials Performance 

Evaluation Program, which was established in 1995. The 

goal of this review is to ensure that States' programs 

adequately protect public health and safety from radiological 

hazards and operate in a manner consistent with the NRC's 

regulatory program. Under the Agreement State Program, 

NRC and its State partners safely and securely regulate 

nearly 21,000 radioactive material licenses.

State Liaison Officer Program

Advance Notification of Radioactive 

Material Shipments

In 1976, the NRC adopted a recommendation from several 

State organizations, including the National Governors 

Association, that each Governor appoint a single person to 

act as a liaison to the NRC to help improve cooperation 

and two-way communication.

State liaison officers, with support from NRC staff, perform 

a number of activities, such as the following:

Keeping Governors informed of NRC updates.

Coordinating with State and local agencies and 

counterparts on NRC-related activities. 

Answering questions from and providing information to 

the NRC.

Providing communication and support to State, local, 

and Federal emergency agencies during emergency 

events at NRC-regulated facilities.

The State liaison officers possess diverse backgrounds 

and qualifications, and they generally work for State 

agencies that focus on protecting public health, safety, and 

the environment. Each regional office of the NRC has 

designated staff whose main responsibility is to 

communicate with the State liaison officers in that region.

The NRC and the Agreement States have regulations that 

require their licensees to provide advance notification to 

the Governor (or the Governor's designated representative) 

as well as to the Tribal official of participating Tribes (or the 

Tribal official's designee), before shipping certain types of 

radioactive material within or across the boundary of the 

State or the Tribe's land. Advance notification is required 

for shipments of the following:

Irradiated reactor fuel 

Large quantities of nuclear waste meeting certain 

criteria

Specified quantities of other radioactive material

The NRC maintains a list of the contact information for all 

State and Tribal representatives designated to receive the 

advance notification.

Agreement States

Non-Agreement States

Letter of Intent