Xcel Energy is on the hook for a $14,000 fine after the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) slapped the utility company for improperly storing radioactive water arising from a cleanup at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant. The spill, originally estimated to be about 400,000 gallons of tritium-laced water, is now believed to be nearly double that figure, with recent announcements by Xcel on Thursday suggesting volumes between 750,000 and 900,000 gallons, according to the Star Tribune.
The issue began in November last year and was not disclosed to the public until March 2023, with the company and MPCA facing heat for the delay in transparency. In the aftermath of the leak, Xcel Energy used temporary tanks to house the contaminated water. They eventually exceeded the tanks' one million-gallon threshold without a permit. The overreach prompted MPCA to demand the permit be obtained to continue using the storage facilities. "Xcel Energy was required to immediately obtain the permit before continuing its response and cleanup," MPCA said in a release, as reported by the Star Tribune.
Xcel had filled 20 temporary tanks and began filling a new tank in April 2023 that pushed capacity to roughly 1.4 million gallons but failed to get a permit for the additional storage. As of November 1, these tanks could no longer be used, following the issuance of the necessary permit in May. The water has since been relocated to an "in-ground lined pond" which serves as a more permanent storage solution, per MPCA, as stated in FOX 9 report.
