Posted at: 11/13/2009 7:06 PM
By: Donny Rowles

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Concerns of Prairie Island Approval

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- The Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant now has the approval to increase the amount of power it produces and dramatically increase the amount of nuclear waste it can store on site in Red Wing.
 
While it means jobs will stay in town, some residents and even the mayor are concerned.    
 
Nicole Cashman has lived in or near Red Wing her whole life. 
 
She didn't know the details of Prairie Island's proposed expansion.
 
"That's a bit concerning, I would like to know a little more about it and how it's safe,” says Cashman.
 
The expansion would allow Prairie Island to increase their energy production by about 16 percent, but what's got many people more concerned, is it would also allow them to store twice as much nuclear waste on site in Red Wing.
 
Red Wing's Mayor John Howe says it's great that Prairie Island will continue operating and keep good jobs in the community, but he has an issue with more than doubling the amount of nuclear waste stored here.  
 
"There's virtually no plan for this new waste that's going to be created and that's what Minnesotans need to be concerned of - we need to develop a plan here," says Mayor Howe.
 
Myron White from Red Wing’s Port Authority works on bringing business into Red Wing. 
 
"Eventually it has to go to a long-term storage facility," White says.
 
He says while the waste needs to be stored somewhere else, he doesn't think it's having a negative affect on the business community.
 
"We've heard none of the manufacturers in our community raise concerns with regard to the storage at the facility," White says.
 
Officials from excel energy - which owns Prairie Island, say the federal government has been contractually obligated to take ownership of their nuclear waste, for years.
 
Excel energy says, quote:
 
"We re-emphasize our determination to persuade the federal government...to remove used fuel from our nuclear plant sites in Minnesota." 
    
Meanwhile residents like Nicole Cashman have put their trust into the people running Prairie Island.
 
"It's a little alarming, but I guess I just trust that they know what they're doing and hopefully that they're keeping us all safe," she says.