Fracking - where is it headed ?

[Lamplighter]

A big Pandora's box has been opened for those
who have "fracking-leased" their property
within the area of the Marcellus shale.

NY Times
By IAN URBINA
Published: October 19, 2011

Rush to Drill for Natural Gas Creates Conflicts With Mortgages

As natural gas drilling has spread across the country,
energy industry representatives have sat down at kitchen tables in states
like Texas, Pennsylvania and New York to offer homeowners leases
that give companies the right to drill on their land.
<snip>
But bankers and real estate executives, especially in New York,
are starting to pay closer attention to the fine print and are raising provocative questions,
such as: What happens if they lend money for a piece of land that ends up
storing the equivalent of an Olympic-size swimming pool filled with toxic wastewater from drilling?

The first reaction to these "fracking leases" is among the lending institutions:

Fearful of just such a possibility, some banks have become reluctant
to grant mortgages on properties leased for gas drilling.
At least eight local or national banks do not typically issue mortgages on such properties, *lenders say.

For the individual property owner is this warning:

Some real estate agents have started raising red flags
“When you decide to sell your house you may find it difficult to do so because many banks,
here and elsewhere, will not mortgage properties with gas leases, which,
in turn, limits the number of buyers willing and able to buy your property,”
wrote Linda Hirvonen, an agent in Ithaca, N.Y., in a newsletter last month.

Obviously, real estate that can not be mortaged will eventually be abandoned.
---
This NY Times article is 3 pages, and it goes on to discuss
some of the national and political issues that are or may result
from these "fine print" issues.