The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday handed off some authority for regulation of radioactive materials in Wyoming to the state government.
The five-person federal commission approved establishing Wyoming as an NRC agreement state, though details of its decision were not immediately available. Agency Chairman Kristine Svinicki and Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead signed the agreement.
This makes Wyoming the 38th agreement state to the federal agency. As of Sunday it will officially assume oversight of licensing, rulemaking, inspection, and enforcement responsibilities for “source material involved in uranium or thorium milling and the management and disposal of milling waste,” according to an NRC press release. That will specifically cover 14 uranium recovery licenses.
“Wyoming had to develop a program that would meet the NRC compatibility requirements to become an Agreement State,” Kyle Wendtland, Land Quality Division administrator at the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, said in a state press release. “In order to accomplish this goal, Wyoming had to implement new governing statutes, rules and regulations, guidance, and policies and procedures compatible with NRC’s requirements.”
If Wyoming had any nuclear power facilities, they would still be regulated by the NRC. The regulator will also retain authority over use of select radioactive materials in Wyoming by federal organizations and radioactive material applications that do not involve uranium and thorium milling.
