An informational hearing on the Xcel Energy Monticello power plant tritium leak was held on Wednesday afternoon.

The Minnesota Senate Committee questioned Xcel Energy’s president and state officials about last November’s radioactive water leak at the Monticello nuclear power plant.

Xcel reportedly discovered the plant had leaked over 400,000 gallons of water which contained tritium, a radioactive material, in November of 2022.

They alerted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) but didn’t inform community members of the leak until March. Xcel said the leak did not pose any harm to the public, which contributed to their decision not to announce the leak. A second leak was found in the same area, which caused “hundreds of gallons” of radioactive water to be spilled, according to the company.

The hearing can be found by CLICKING HERE.

During the hearing, Xcel’s president acknowledged the leak should have been revealed to the public sooner.

“Obviously, one of [the] pieces of feedback we received, which has been a real-life lesson for us, is that even though it was contained to our site and didn’t pose a health risk, people wanted us to be sharing information sooner,” said Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy in Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

State health and pollution officials told lawmakers there continues to be no concern of risk to drinking water, with the closest well being more than three miles away from the contaminated groundwater.

Officials from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) said the leaks have been stopped and did not reach the Mississippi River.

As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, residents of Monticello have expressed frustration with the timing of the announcement.

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