NRC Hears Prairie Island Nuclear Waste Concerns

ST. PAUL  (AP) - Tribal members are getting a chance to tell federal regulators their concerns about nuclear waste storage at the Prairie Island power plant.

The Prairie Island Indian Community says more safety measures are needed for the waste, which is stored in casks on a concrete pad. Tribal members live just blocks from the twin reactors along the Mississippi River in Goodhue County.

Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are in St. Paul Thursday to listen to the tribal members' concerns. Xcel Energy recently won permission to operate the plant for another 20 years, but it needs approval to store waste there longer.