On December 7, 1979, following the March 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident in Pennsylvania, President Carter transferred the Federal lead role in offsite radiological emergency planning and preparedness activities from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to FEMA. FEMA established the Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program to (1) ensure that the public health and safety of citizens living around commercial nuclear power plants would be adequately protected in the event of a nuclear power station accident and (2) inform and educate the public about radiological emergency preparedness. FEMA's REP Program responsibilities encompass only "offsite" activities that are state and local government emergency preparedness activities that take place beyond the nuclear power plant boundaries. Onsite activities continue to be the responsibility of the NRC.