Residents are emboldened by North Dakota standoff as energy firms try to move glut of natural gas.

By Kris Maher March 31, 2017 5:30 a.m. ET HUNTINGDON, Pa.—As energy companies ramp up efforts to move a glut of natural gas with new pipelines in Pennsylvania and beyond, they are encountering stiffening resistance from property owners and activists.

Residents and activists have set up an encampment on Ellen Gerhart’s property here, where the 61-year-old has been fighting against the 350-mile Mariner East 2 pipeline. A hundred miles to the east, a bigger encampment in Lancaster dubbed “The Stand” is going up in a cornfield in the 2 heart of Amish farm country to oppose a different pipeline. In both cases, the pipeline builders have said they have tried to accommodate landowners and avoid clashes by rerouting sections.

As the disputes rage, officials say the need for new pipeline capacity is acute in places like Pennsylvania, where fracking in the Marcellus Shale has created an oversupply of natural gas, depressing prices and hampering economic development.

A task force formed by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, concluded last year that more pipelines are needed to move gas inside and beyond Pennsylvania. In February, appointees of President Barack Obama on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved four major pipelines in the state, the nation’s No. 2 natural-gas producer behind Texas.

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By Wall Street Journal | Kris Maher | Mar 31, 2017