Upton: Inspectors find source of water leak that forced shutdown of Palisades nuclear plant

COVERT TOWNSHIP, Michigan — U.S. Rep. Fred Upton says inspectors have found the source of a water leak that forced the shutdown of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant on the Lake Michigan shoreline and are making repairs to prevent a repeat.

The St. Joseph Republican spoke Monday after touring the plant in Van Buren County's Covert Township, 80 miles east-northeast of Chicago,

NRC Commissioner Kristine Svinicki, left, joins U.S. Rep. Fred Upton as they answer questions during a press conference Monday, May 13, 2013, at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert, Mich. The plant recently went offline due to the presence of a water tank leak. (AP Photo/The Herald-Palladium, Don Campbell)

New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. idled the plant May 5 after operators found a tank leaking faster than regulations allow. Some slightly radioactive water entered Lake Michigan, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says there's no health risk.

Upton has criticized operators of the plant, which has had nine shutdowns since September 2011.

He says the tank's 10 nozzles are being upgraded and says he'll return to the plant before it's restarted.

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