Star Tribune
Xcel fined $14K over unpermitted storage of radioactive water at Minnesota nuclear plant
Xcel Energy has been fined $14,000 for storing radioactive water without a permit in the aftermath of a spill last year at its Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant.
The plant, about a 30-minute drive northwest of the Twin Cities, sprung a leak of tritium-tainted water in late 2022, when a broken pipe allowed some 400,000 gallons to seep out. The utility and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency didn’t reveal the leak to the public until the following March, drawing public criticism and a promise from state officials to be more transparent.
According to an MPCA press release on Thursday, the agency fined Xcel for its use of temporary aboveground storage tanks to hold the tritiated water. Xcel broke state regulations by holding more than a million gallons of the water in the tanks without first seeking a permit.
In addition to paying the fine, “Xcel Energy was required to immediately obtain the permit before continuing its response and cleanup. The MPCA issued the appropriate permit in May 2023, requiring the use of temporary tanks to end by Nov. 1,” the release said.
Stephen Mikkelson, a spokesman for MPCA, said the agency’s investigation started after Xcel got the needed permit in May, and closed last month. He wrote in an email that the agency “communicates about enforcement actions after the entire enforcement process has concluded,” and the entity it is investigating has paid a fine, made improvements, or done both.
Kevin Coss, a spokesman for Xcel, did not immediately provide a comment.
Tritium is a mildly radioactive isotope of hydrogen that it a common byproduct at nuclear plants. It can only harm people if ingested in significant amounts.
The Monticello plant is located on the banks of the Mississippi River, upstream of the point where the city of Minneapolis collects its source of drinking water. State health officials said that even if the tritiated water did reach the river, it would be so diluted that it would not pose a threat downstream.
Dealing with the leak presented a months-long challenge as Xcel pumped up the tritiated groundwater and tried multiple strategies to stop the plume from reaching the river. Its temporary patch on the original leaky pipe failed at one point, and prompted the plant to shut down, so it could install a more permanent fix.
Xcel also said in July that some of the tritiated water that remained underground had possibly reached the Mississippi, as it showed up in a monitoring well next to the river. But the tritium was detected in levels far below the Environmental Protection Agency’s health limit for the isotope in drinking water.
The MPCA’s press release said that Xcel is no longer holding the tritiated water in temporary tanks, and has built a more permanent lined pond for storage.
Check back for more on this breaking story.
Two men are dead and one woman was injured in a shooting at a homeless encampment in south Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon, police said. It was the second shooting at a Minneapolis encampment this weekend.
At about 2:20 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a reported shooting in the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue near the railroad tracks at the small encampment between Snelling and Hiawatha avenues. At the scene, officers found two men with fatal gunshot wounds, said Sgt. Garrett Parten Minneapolis Police spokesman. Responders rendered aid, but both men died at the scene.
A woman was found at the scene with life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital where she was being treated Sunday night, he said. Police have yet to say whether the three were living at the encampment.
Officers detained three people, who Parten said have since been released after police found they were not believed to be involved in the shooting. No suspects had been identified as of 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The shooting is the second at a southside homeless encampment this weekend. One man died and two were critically injured early Saturday at an encampment shooting near E. 21st Street and 15th Avenue S. On Sunday, the man was identified as Deven Leonard Caston, 31, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“We don’t know if there’s a connection between this homeless encampment shooting and the one that occurred yesterday,” Parten said on Sunday. “That is a consideration of the investigation. We can’t rule it out.”
Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury, who represents the area and lives nearby, was at the site of the shooting Sunday afternoon. She said officials need information about what happened to better understand how to address situations like this long-term.
“This is an absolute tragedy, and this type of violence should never occur within our city,” she said. “It really makes me think about how we need to look at this more systemically and not just take a whack-a-mole approach and expect the problem to go away.
During Sunday’s Twitch stream, Walz and Ocasio-Cortez played Madden while discussing making homebuying more accessible, building affordable housing, eliminating student loan debt and raising the federal minimum wage.
After the match, Walz showed off his Sega skills in a round of “Crazy Taxi,” the Y2K-era racing game where gamers play as a taxi driver picking up passengers and taking them to their destination for cash.
Walz called himself a “first-generation gamer” and recalled playing “Crazy Taxi” when he bought a Sega Dreamcast. He also mentioned the Minnesota Star Tribune’s coverage of how his old game console was sold and ended up with a Plymouth resident, who still has it.
Afterward, Walz and Ocasio-Cortez watched a short clip of Trump denying on Rogan’s podcast that he lost the 2020 presidential election. Democrat Joe Biden won that year.
Ocasio-Cortez during the livestream also showed viewers her farm on the cozy, indie game Stardew Valley. Walz said the game reminded him of Minnesota: “You’ve got mining,” he said. “You’ve got agriculture. You’ve got snow.”
Before Walz headed out to a rally in Nevada, he pleaded with viewers to vote. More than 12,000 viewers tuned into the livestream on Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch channel. More watched from Harris’ channel.
”Hey guys, they’re now scrambling and trying to call us Nazis and fascists,” said Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, who draped a sparkly ”MAGA” jacket over the lectern as she spoke. ”And you know what they’re claiming, guys? It’s very scary. They’re claiming we’re going to go after them and try and put them in jail. Well, ain’t that rich?”
Declared Hogan in his characteristic raspy growl: ”I don’t see no stinkin’ Nazis in here.”
Trump has denounced the four criminal indictments brought against him as politically motivated. He has ramped up his denunciations in recent weeks of ”enemies from within,” naming domestic political rivals, and suggested he would use the military to go after them. Harris, in turn, has called Trump a ”fascist.”
The arena was full hours before Trump was scheduled to speak. Outside the arena, the sidewalks were overflowing with Trump supporters in red ”Make America Great Again” hats. There was a heavy security presence. Streets were blocked off and access to Penn Station was restricted.
In the crowd was Philip D’Agostino, a longtime Trump backer from Queens, the borough where Trump grew up. The 64-year-old said it was appropriate for Trump to be speaking at a place bills itself as ”the world’s most famous arena.”
”It just goes to show ya that he has a bigger following of any man that has ever lived,” D’Agostino said.
