MPCA Announces Fish Kill Near Monticello Nuclear Power Plant

(KNSI) — The shutdown of the Monticello nuclear power plant has led to a temperature-related fish kill on the Mississippi River.

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Xcel Energy notified them of the issue Monday afternoon. The MPCA says with normal operations at the plant, warm water flows into the river, and the fish get used to it. The plant was taken offline after a second leak of water tainted with tritium was announced on March 16th, so the temperature change shocked the fish, and they died.

Tritium occurs naturally in the environment, especially near nuclear power plants.

The first leak spilled more than 400,000 gallons of tritium contaminated water into the environment in November, but officials with Xcel said it didn’t require public notification.

Officials say 230 fish have died so far, including bass, channel catfish, common carp and at least one species of sucker fish. The MPCA maintains it was the drastic change in water temperature, not tritium.

The Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is monitoring samples taken from groundwater wells and has “no evidence that the tritium has reached the Mississippi River or contaminated drinking water sources.”

The leak has been fixed, according to Xcel, and the plant is expected to go back online within the next week.

The MPCA, Minnesota Department of Health, and Department of Natural Resources “continue to work together on this response.”

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