(The Center Square) – Pat Nemec believes there are more Bad River Band members that are for a Line 5 reroute than against it, despite the tribe’s official position fighting the reroute in a set of recent hearings contesting Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permits for the reroute.

Enbridge, which owns the pipeline, and the WDNR will continue testimony this week on the case.

Nemec told The Center Square that he knows plenty of tribal members and has been a member himself for 58 years. Nemec owns a construction business, LK 1 Services, and plans to have civil construction work once the reroute begins with an all-Native American crew, he said.

“If they’re so concerned, why not put it to a referendum?” Nemec asked. “And they never did.”

Nemec, in fact, believes that several tribal council members who were against the pipeline reroute lost elections due that that viewpoint.

“The money that’s going to be brought into this area for the economy is unbelievable,” Nemec said.

He believes that other tribal members haven’t spoken out due to fear of impact on their work lives.

Bad River Band Chairman Robert Blanchard recently told The Center Square after his testimony in Ashland that his environmental concerns related to the pipeline were long term, thinking about the impact seven generations ahead on the proposed 41-mile reroute.

Permit applications for the project were initially submitted in 2020. The WDNR granted permits, which are being challenged in this series of hearings, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still would need to approve of the project.

Nemec said that he believes that a Line 5 spill is as likely as an airplane crash and that Enbridge has gone above what was expected or required when issues have arisen.