West Hempfield Township--Protesters surrounded a giant piece of digging machinery and about 25 were arrested as they tried to block the start of construction of a natural gas pipeline near Columbia in Lancaster County.

Within minutes of the last hand-cuffed protester being led away, work on the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline began on the tract of cornfield about a mile south of Route 30.

The arrests took place on farmland owned by

the federal agency that approved the project, and Williams Partners LP, the Oklahoma firm that's building the pipeline to transfer natural gas from Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region.

Although the suit is still alive, a federal judge on Friday ruled that construction can begin.

On Monday, a crowd of protesters had gathered before 7 a.m. The pipeline, organizers said, violates "our religious rights, community rights, property rights, and rights to clean air and water."

The protesters included people of all ages -- retirees, parents of young children and even a few teens who otherwise would have been in school. It took hours until construction equipment was in position and ready to go. Throughout the morning, Mark Clatterbuck, one of the leaders of the protest, urged the group to refrain from hostile words and actions. But, framing it as a "moral" dispute between profit-seeking outside interests and local people trying to protect the safety and beauty of their community, he said it would be a good time for those willing to be arrested for the cause to make their stand. The point, he said, was to call attention to the dispute.

Clatterbuck and his wife, Melinda Harnish Clatterbuck, were among those arrested.

The arrested protesters, who had sung hymns and folk songs as they stood with arms locked, will be charged with defiant trespass, a third-degree misdemeanor with a penalty of up to a year in jail. They were handcuffed and taken to a different location to be arraigned. The arrests included one or two juveniles.

As work began just before 2 p.m. on Monday, one protester who served as a liaison with police said he was unsure what protesters will do next. However, Clutterback had earlier urged protesters, including members of a group called Lancaster Against Piplelines, to maintain a vigil at the site.

There was no outright conflict between protesters and the dozens of hard-hatted pipleline workers at the site, or between protesters and police, who were from multiple departments. After giving a warning, police gave the protesters about 30 minutes to leave the pipleline easement. Officers could be seen pleasantly interacting with the protesters as they arrested them one by one, with the protesters who chose to yield rather than be arrested cheering and calling out the name of each one who led away.

Brett Hambright, a spokesman for the Lancaster District Attorney's Office, said the protesters were "very peaceful, very cooperative and very respectful, and the police wanted to reciprocate to them as well."

The 42-inch pipeline will be buried about three feet underground. In Lancaster County, it will also be laid under natural features including the Conestoga River.

Williams on Monday put out a written statement which read, "We respect the rights of people to protest, but our focus is on constructing this important, federally approved infrastructure in a safe, efficient manner. We will continue to coordinate with local and state authorities to ensure protestors, construction personnel and our employees are protected during the construction process."

"We are committed to treating all landowners fairly and with respect. It is important to note that the Adorers property, which until recently has been used for farming, will continue to be able to be used for farming once the pipeline is installed."

While the Adorers of the Blood of Christ oppose the pipeline, and owner of the adjoining farmland has agreed to allow it.