Connecticut looks to become an NRC Agreement State

If approved by the NRC, Connecticut would become what is known as an Agreement State, and the agency would discontinue its oversight over the select materials.

Copies of the proposed agreement and supporting documents as well as the NRC draft staff assessment are available on the NRC website.

Deeper look: Under the proposed agreement, Connecticut would accept responsibility for licensing, rulemaking, inspection, and enforcement activities related to the industrial, medical, and academic uses of radioactive material. The NRC would transfer 104 specific licenses for radioactive material to Connecticut’s jurisdiction.

The NRC would retain jurisdiction over the Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford, Conn., as well as over federal agencies using certain nuclear material in the state.

Check first: Before entering into the agreement, the NRC must determine that the state’s radiation control program is adequate to protect public health and safety and is compatible with the NRC’s regulations.

Noted: If the request is approved, Connecticut will become the 40th state to sign such an agreement with the NRC. More information about the Agreement State program is available on the NRC’s website.

The proposed agreement between the NRC and Connecticut and a summary of the NRC staff’s draft assessment of the Connecticut program were published for public comment in the March 19 Federal Register and will be repeated weekly for four weeks.

Comments may be submitted through April 18, 2025, on the federal government’s rulemaking website under Docket ID NRC-2025-0010.