CONESTOGA TOWNSHIP, LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. -- Driving down River Corner Road in Conestoga Township, Lancaster County, you'll find pipeline construction workers and protestors singing in white hazmat suits.
"As a local community, we have committed to continuing to show our resistance through peaceful non-violent, creative mass actions," said Mark Clatterbuck, Co-founder of Lancaster Against Pipelines.
Clatterbuck says he and other members of 'Lancaster Against Pipelines' have been fighting the construction for nearly 4 years.
"We have tried every means available to us, and what we`ve come to realize is that the local communities actually don`t have the ability to legally stop a project like this," said Clatterbuck.
After the Mariner 2 East Natural Gas Pipeline in Lancaster County was temporarily shut down due to a spill in July, Clatterbuck says it is a prime example why it is so important to take action.
"We watch as the workers try to hurry and clean up and not even report it, and you know, that`s how they operate," said Clatterbuck.
FOX43 reached out to Williams, the company that is running pipeline construction and they released the following statement—quote:
"We respect the rights of people to protest, but our focus remains on constructing this important, federally-approved infrastructure in a safe, efficient manner. We will continue to coordinate with federal, state and local authorities to ensure protestors and our employees are protected during the construction process."
Eva Telesco who is a kindergarden teacher says she too has concerns.
"It makes me feel horrible, my son is in kindergarten, not at the school I teach, but the pipeline route goes extremely close to several schools like half a mile, quarter mile from Martic Elementary, Farmdale Elementary," said Telesco. "And to think if there was a spill or once the pipe is installed if there was an explosion, I mean that`s dangerous," she added.
"As long as we are out here, we want to continue to expose the injustices at play and to try to change the system so that local communities can say no to this kind of destruction we are seeing right now," added Clatterbuck.
