Below is a message from Xcel Energy dated April 16, 2025:
"Update from Xcel Energy on activity at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant
For more than two years, Xcel Energy has been working to recover tritium from water that leaked into the ground beneath the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant. We have installed many new monitoring wells and increased our monitoring frequency to guide this work and have retrieved millions of gallons of affected water. Our teams have driven down tritium concentrations in the groundwater by more than 90% from their initial recordings. Of the more than three dozen wells now on site, only two, located right below the plant structure, currently measure tritium at a level above the Environmental Protection Agency’s safe drinking water standard.
Continued monitoring and adjustment to our cleanup approach has made this progress possible. Earlier this week, groundwater monitoring wells identified low levels of tritium in two additional monitoring wells near the Mississippi River, both at levels below the EPA standard. We are adjusting the amount of water we pump to help control the flow of groundwater and recover it more effectively. At no point has tritium been detected in the river itself above naturally occurring levels.
The tritium has not posed a risk to the surrounding communities, our employees or the environment at any point. We remain committed to being good neighbors and stewards of the environment, as well as following all regulations, as we continue the clean-up. Our groundwater recovery work will not impact the plant’s regularly scheduled refueling outage, which begins on Friday, April 18. Residents in the area can expect to see increased activity at the plant around the clock, as well as at local restaurants and hotels as several hundred specialized contractors arrive to help complete the work safely and effectively over the next month.
The company updates this page as new information is available. Media inquiries can be sent to: mediainquiries@xcelenergy.com."