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Seven Arrested At Pipeline Task Force Meeting

Marie Cusick
/
StateImpact Pennsylvania
Seven protesters were arrested after they disrupted Gov. Wolf's pipeline task force meeting in Harrisburg, Wednesday.

Seven people were arrested for disorderly conduct after they disrupted the final meeting of Governor Tom Wolf’s Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force in Harrisburg Wednesday.

The protesters shouted as they were escorted out of the meeting by Capitol Police:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAK-DrsTi9k

The task force was convened by state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Quigley last year. It’s made up of representatives from industry, government, academia and environmental groups. Over the past few months, they’ve put together a draft report with 184 separate recommendations for Wolf on how to handle Pennsylvania’s ongoing pipeline building boom.

The public meetings have been contentious at times, with emotional pleas from landowners who accused major oil and gas companies of bullying their way onto their properties through the use of eminent domain. Representatives from organized labor and business groups have also spoken out in favor of the projects, siting the jobs they bring to skilled workers, such as welders. However most of the public comments have been negative.

Anti-fracking groups have accused the entire effort as being a public relations exercise, which Quigley disputes.

Read more of this reporton the site of our partner StateImpact

WMHT/Capital Region reporter for the Innovation Trail.