Economics | GDACC

Fleased has recently learned that individuals in Madison County, NY could not get homeowner’s insurance due to the presence of a traditional vertical gas well on their property. As insurance companies learn more about the effects of gas drilling, multiple underwriters are not covering homes or properties with wells or gas leases A large insurance company we spoke with that covers an area from the Southern Tier north to Watertown said they have NO insurance underwriter who will write a homeowner’s policy for any property that has an existing well or even a gas lease.

Mortgage lenders require homeowner’s insurance so the inability to obtain such insurance would make it impossible to get a loan.

Remember, that even if you have homeowner’s insurance, this type of insurance does not cover (and never has covered) potential damages related to gas drilling. Read more at:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/166771976/Insurers-Fracking-related-damages-not-covered-by-standard-policies

It would be wise not to let your current homeowner’s insurance lapse, but to renew if possible and be sure to check the fine print on your homeowners insurance if you’ve got a gas lease.

Landowner Denied Loan in Pennsylvania for Well Across the Street

Insurance is not the only issue lessors are noticing. Banks are beginning to question landowners about fracked wells and impoundment lakes on (and even near) properties when owners seek to obtain a mortgage or home equity loan. A property owner in Pennsylvania was recently denied a mortgage. In an email, Quicken Loans told the property owners, “Unfortunately, we are unable to move forward with this loan. It is located across the street from a gas drilling site.” Two other national lenders also declined to make the loan.

Learn more at:

http://grist.org/climate-energy/fracking-boom-could-lead-to-housing-bust/

Sovereign Bank’s New Mortgage Provision

As more is learned about high volume hydraulic fracturing, banks and federal agencies are revisiting their lending policies to protect themselves and account for potential impacts on property values. Sovereign Bank, a major national lender, has added a rider to their mortgages that states that “the mortgage will be automatically recalled if the property owner transfers any oil or gas rights or allows any surface drilling activity.” It also says owners must “take affirmative steps to prevent the renewal or expansion” of any current lease.

Thanks,

Ren and Ellen

Filed under Economics, Pipelines, Shale Gas Development-Hydrofracking Tagged with hydrofracking, insurance, leases, mortgages, storage

Fractured Communities | Albany Law School: A New York Law School

September 20, 2013

Fractured Communities | Albany Law School: A New York Law School.

www.albanylaw.edu/fracking.

We will also have the webcast and a transcription archived on our website following the event.

Thank you,

Michael White
Executive Editor for Symposium, Volume 77
Albany Law Review | www.albanylawreview.org
80 New Scotland Avenue | Albany, NY 12208
phone: (315) 842-0907 | e-mail: mwhite@albanylaw.edu

Filed under Community Impacts, Economics, Environment, Local Control, Shale Gas Development-Hydrofracking, Waste, Water Tagged with hydrofracking, legal decision

Pa. fracking boom goes bust

September 11, 2013

Pa. fracking boom goes bust.

Filed under Economics, Shale Gas Development-Hydrofracking Tagged with boom bust, Bradford Co., economic impacts, hydrofracking, jobs, PA

Economics of Fracking NY

September 9, 2013

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Recently, various reports have confirmed the analyses of various independent economists, including Jannette Barth, Ph.D., which have suggested that the economic gains from fracking are industry-contrived and short-lived. Letter to Governor Cuomo from Three Concerned Economists, Dr. Barth, a Catskill homeowner and former chief economist for the M.T.A. has criticized the overly-optimistic forecasts, contending that the models are flawed and the data incomplete, at best. Critique of PPI Study on Shale Gas Job Creation, Unanswered Questions About The Economic Impact of Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale: Don’t Jump to Conclusions, Moreover, Dr. Barth, in one of the very few peer-reviewed articles on shale gas economics, concludes that job gains are minor, money flows out of extraction states and that any booms tend to be followed by pronounced and extended busts, as pre-existing industries are irreparably destroyed by fracking THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SHALE GAS DEVELOPMENT ON STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIES: BENEFITS, COSTS, AND UNCERTAINTIES,

Over the last week, a clutch of reports has laid bare the exaggerated job claims in Pennsylvania and Arkansas and the inevitable bust which has followed shale gas extraction in the Marcellus and Fayetteville shales. Both reports confirm Dr. Barth’s conclusions and should be recognized by policymakers who contemplate whether to allow fracking in New York state. In Arkansas, local business owners have recognized that workers must follow the rigs from state-to-state—now to North Dakota and Montana–and that the motel business, which surged briefly, has crashed. Economy slows with Fayetteville Shale drilling lag

Meanwhile, next door in Pennsylvania, the Pro-Fracking Corbett administration’s much ballyhooed job claims have been shown to be merely “[r]obust and aggressive statements about job creation which overstate dramatically the effects of one specific area of economic activity.” Pennsylvania Marcellus shale job creation claims being overstated? In fact, “According to a grimmer-than-expected report from the Keystone Research Group, the workforce outlook for Pennsylvanians is the bleakest it has been since 2010.” Report: Pa. outlook on jobs worst in three years