Connecticut Agreement
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) provides assistance to States expressing interest in establishing programs to assume NRC regulatory authority under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. Section 274 of the Act provides a statutory basis under which NRC relinquishes to the States portions of its regulatory authority to license and regulate byproduct, source, and certain quantities of special nuclear materials. The State Agreement and Liaison Programs Branch in the Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) has the programmatic lead at the NRC for processing an Agreement application.
The Commission and a State may enter an Agreement whereby the Commission discontinues regulatory authority over a specific category of materials or class of facilities. The State of Connecticut has requested an agreement for the authority to regulate byproduct, source, and special nuclear material of a certain quantity, but not the authority to regulate 11e.(2) byproduct material (mill tailings), low-level waste disposal or evaluation of sealed sources and devices. Once the Agreement process is completed, the NRC will transfer the licenses for approximately 125 academic, commercial and medical facilities to the State of Connecticut.
The NRC staff evaluates the State's Agreement materials program using NMSS Procedure SA-700 
Processing an Agreement and its associated handbook . The staff's assessment will need to show that the Agreement materials program satisfies the Commission policy statement Criteria for Guidance of States and NRC in Discontinuance of NRC Regulatory Authority and Assumption Thereof by States Through Agreement (46 FR 7540; January 23, 1981 and 48 FR 33376; July 21, 1983 ). There are several steps in the Agreement process. The table below includes the steps in the process and provides the status for the State of Connecticut's Agreement application.
| Agreement Process | Connecticut's Status |
|---|---|
| Governor submits Letter of Intent to NRC Chairman | December 10, 2020; ML20346A345 |
| NMSS assigns a Project Manager | Duncan White: Duncan.White@nrc.gov; 301-415-2598 |
| State develops draft Agreement application | January 2021 - present |
| State submits draft Agreement application to NRC for review | |
| NRC provides letter to State detailing review team's comments on draft application | |
| State develops Formal Request (final application) for an Agreement | |
| Governor submits Formal Request and certifies State has adequate program | |
| NRC staff prepares Commission Paper that includes draft analysis, draft Agreement and Federal Register notice requesting comments | |
| Commission approves publication in the Federal Register for public review and comment | |
| Draft Agreement and staff analysis published in Federal Register for four consecutive weeks | |
| NRC staff analyzes public comments | |
| NRC staff prepares Commission Paper that includes final draft analysis, Agreement and resolution to public comments | |
| Commission approves Agreement | |
| Chairman and Governor sign Agreement | |
| State assumes regulation authority | |
| Final Agreement published in Federal Register |
Additional information on the Agreement State Program and the Connecticut agreement application can be found in the frequently asked questions.
Page last modified on Thursday March 16 2023.