Xcel Energy Fined for Permit Violation Amid Tritium Leaks

Company has taken corrective actions and there remains no risk to public health, according to Minnesota Department of Health.

Xcel Energy has been fined $14,000 for pumping contaminated groundwater into a temporary storage tank without the necessary permit at its Monticello nuclear power plant in Minnesota.
The fine was not for the leaks of radioactive tritium themselves, but for the permit violation.
Xcel has since transferred the contaminated water to more permanent in-ground lined storage ponds and dismantled the temporary tanks.
Despite criticism for not notifying the public until well after the first spill, Xcel has recovered most of the tritium and built an underground metal barrier to prevent contaminated groundwater from reaching the Mississippi River.
Testing by the Minnesota Department of Health shows no evidence of tritium in the river, and there remains no risk to public health or immediate impacts to the safety of drinking water or private wells.