Driller Disputes Agency Authority Over Fracking in Delaware River Basin

Ten days before the agency that oversees the Delaware River Basin is scheduled to release regulations that could ban the use of water for fracking activities, a would-be Pennsylvania driller argued to a federal court that the watershed manager should have no jurisdiction over natural gas drilling activities at all.

Wayne Land and Mineral Group LLC sued the Delaware River Basin Commission in May 2016, arguing that the federal-interstate agency overstepped its authority by asserting control over natural gas drilling in the basin.

The property owner said it bought a 180-acre property in Wayne County, Pa., in 2015 ...