A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by two Pennsylvania Senate Republicans against the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking). 

DRBC

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said state Sens. Gene Yaw and Lisa Baker lack standing to challenge the ban on unconventional oil and gas development in the 13,539-square mile watershed. 

The senators, along with two townships and two counties in the state, claimed the DRBC exceeded its authority by imposing a moratorium on fracking in the basin. They alleged that the commision usurped legislative authority. However, Judge Paul S. Diamond said the matter is a partisan one that should be resolved through the broader political process. 

“Unfortunately for plaintiffs,...