Pipeline opponents perched in Huntingdon County trees must vacate the area and allow construction teams to build across private land, according to a county judge.

In an opinion filed late Wednesday afternoon, Huntingdon County Judge George Zanic stipulates that protesters have 48 hours to remove themselves and equipment from land owned by the local Gerhart family, which also opposes construction.

“Any items remaining within the easement thereafter shall be viewed as abandoned, illegal obstructions and shall be removed and disposed of,” the opinion reads. “Any items which cannot be readily removed may be destroyed.”

Sunoco Pipeline LP workers are building a 300-plus-mile pipeline — the Mariner East 2 — that when completed will carry natural gas liquids from beyond Penn­sylvania’s western border to a processing facility in Delaware County’s Marcus Hook area.

Along the way, it will pass through Blair, Cambria and Huntingdon counties, including the Gerhart property.

Property owner Ellen Gerhart and her supporters have long aired their opposition of the project, which they claim threatens safety, as well as the area’s natural beauty.

“There were hundreds of trees that they cut down,” Gerhart said last month. “All you are going to be left with is this dangerous pipeline.”

When the Gerharts refused monetary offers, Sunoco officials took legal action, winning a “writ of possession” in Huntingdon County Court to access the land, about 3 acres — state law allows the use of eminent domain for gas pipeline projects.

The past few months, protesters have climbed trees along the property in an area called Camp White Pine. There, they have hung banners and remained in trees in an attempt to halt or thwart pipeline construction.

Zanic’s ruling, stemming from a Tuesday injunction hearing, prohibits pipeline opponents, including the Gerharts, from entering the Sunoco easement without permission or doing anything that could interfere with workers’ access to the easement or their installation of the pipeline.

Opponents also are prohibited from doing anything that may create a danger for themselves or others.

“This order shall remain in effect in full force until such time as this court specifically orders otherwise,” Zanic wrote.

The Gerharts’ attorney, Rich Raiders, said the ruling was especially disappointing because of a June 20 decision from the state Supreme Court, ruling that state government must act as a “trustee” in maintaining natural resources.

Sunoco Pipeline LP is a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, which has received mass criticism and drawn protests and national attention for its role in construction of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.

Sunoco’s Mariner East 1 pipeline has been transporting propane and ethane in the region since late 2014, and it has leaked multiple times — including in Blair County’s Allegheny Township area.

Late Thursday morning, Raiders said he wasn’t sure if the Gerharts would further pursue the case.

“We are considering our options … if we want to appeal the situation or not,” he said. “There are several issues that we have to think about.”

That includes waiting for the Supreme Court to decide whether or not to hear the underlying eminent domain case, he said.

“We await their response,” Raiders said.

Pipeline opposition is not limited to Huntingdon County. In Blair County, the Mariner East 2 is slated to pass through Juniata, Allegheny, Blair, Franks­town and Woodbury townships.

“I’m pretty disappointed in (Zanic’s) ruling,” said Bridgette Jackson of the Blair County Coalition for Public Safety — a local anti-pipeline group.

Members of the coalition have supported the Gerharts, and Jackson said she’s been told that protesters plan to remain in trees on the land despite the ruling.

“The efforts are still going to continue down there,” she said.

Zanic’s order will allow authorities to remove those in violation of his ruling.

Jackson said her group has been raising money and collecting donations, hoping the funds can be used to cover bail and court costs if protesters are arrested. Thousands of dollars have already been collected.

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.