From HousingWire:
New Jersey foreclosures wait in the wings as court deliberates key case
Hundreds of New Jersey foreclosure cases are waiting in the wings for the state’s Supreme Court to issue what will be a landmark decision in the Garden State.
Legal scholars suggest lenders are waiting to see what the court will do with the U.S. Bank National Association v. Guillaume case before moving forward with thousands of pending foreclosures.
The issue in the case causing lenders to pause is the question of whether a foreclosure notice is made invalid because the lender filed a notice of intent to foreclose with the servicer listed on the notice instead of the lender.
In the original complaint, the Guillaume’s argue the lender, U.S. Bank NA, violated the Fair Foreclosure Act by not including the lender’s information in a spot that ended up containing contact information for the servicer.
Linda Fisher, a professor at Seton Hall Law School who has been following the case, said the foreclosure process is “kicked off by filing the notice of intent to foreclose.” Fisher filed an friend-of-the-court brief with the New Jersey Supreme Court in support of the Gillaumes’ claim.
Fisher says the intent to foreclose form has 24 data points, including the name of the lender and contact information for the lender.
The Guillaumes, who challenged the foreclosure on several fronts, initially claimed the lender “violated the FFA because although the notice of intent to foreclose listed plaintiff as the holder of the note, it did not list plaintiff’s address, but rather, listed the address and telephone number” of the servicer.
An appellate court ruled for the lender and against the plaintiffs saying “directing the Guillaumes to contact ASC (or the servicer) fulfilled the purpose of the notice provision under the FFA — making the debtor aware of the situation, and how and who to contact to either cure the default or raise potential disputes.”
But the case now awaits the New Jersey Supreme Court decision, causing some lenders to pause before launching foreclosures.
Fisher said the initial notice of intent to foreclose claimed the servicer was the lender and the holder of the obligation. Later in the case, the issue became the fact that the lender’s name was listed but with the servicer’s address.
“The banks are contending it is OK to enter only the name of the servicer,” Fisher said. “The Guillaumes are saying the servicer is not a substitute for the lender because the statute is quite clear, and it specifically mentions inclusion of the name of the lender.”
Stealth Austerity?
From the Jersey Journal:
Do you rely on your mail getting there the next day?
A mail center in Kearny and five others in New Jersey are slated to close as the U.S. Postal Service looks to cut costs and avert seeking bankruptcy protection.
The other targeted facilities are in Edison, Pleasantville, Eatontown, Teterboro and Bellmawr. The plan is not final and pressure from the public, Congress or the business community could keep some centers open.
The consolidations would typically lengthen the distance mail travels from post office to processing center. Senders could no longer expect next-day delivery in surrounding communities.
Across the nation, the USPS plans to eliminate more than 250 processing centers altogether. Nearly 30,000 workers would be laid off, too, as the post office struggles to respond to a shift to online communication and bill payments.
The cuts are part of $3 billion in reductions aimed at helping the agency avert bankruptcy next year. They would virtually eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day, a change in first-class delivery standards that have been in place since 1971.
Morning Mike
Comments on the NY Metro market from Toll Bros, via Nasdaq:
Toll Brothers Reports 4th Qtr and FYE 2011 Results
“The urban metro New York City market remains a bright light for us. In FY 2011, we opened for sale three new buildings under our “Toll Brothers City Living” brand. We launched 1450 Washington Avenue, the fourth building in our successful Hudson Tea project at the northern tip of Hoboken, New Jersey. In Manhattan, we opened The Touraine on the Upper East Side at 65th Street and Lexington Avenue, a small boutique building with an average projected sales price of $5 million per unit. On the Brooklyn waterfront, we opened 205 Water Street in the DUMBO neighborhood. Before opening for sale, The Touraine and 205 Water each had lists of over 3,000 potential customers who had expressed interest. In total, in the urban metro New York City market, we have completed 13 buildings of approximately 2,550 units, approximately 2,430 of which have been sold; we are in construction on three buildings of 245 units; and have eight more buildings of approximately 1,600 units in planning.
Just got done going over yesterday.
Chi Fi send my regards to Cindy if you would be kind enough.
Nom, GTG sounds great will go if humanly possible.
P.S. Screw the mail, so it takes 2 days get over it.
By the way good morning Mike.
Rut roh, most of Europe in the red, will the US markets take a dump, whatever it is all bull.
Good Morning New Jersey
Gutting first class might save money, but we all better agree on the primary purpose of the USPS being the delivery of junk mail, because that is all that’ll be left.
Grim 7 & how long will that last as more & more advertisement $ are going to electronic media. Unfortunately unless the Gov. wants to subsidize it is tick, tick, tick for the USPS.
USPS, not to worry, the 2012 solar flares will disrupt all electronic media, leaving snail mail as the only viable option. Likewise only hardwired rotary phones will be viable. Thank goodness I kept my backup western electric rotaries & backup all snail correspondance.
Isn’t not having USPS healthy a threat to national security or will FedEx and UPS develop some type of hybrid mail service for > .44
On another note, babies in Japan maybe glowing and not for a good reason –
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-06/radioactive-cesium-found-in-meiji-baby-formula-spurs-recall-shares-fall.html
Anyone know if the milk supply in our country has been impacted by fracking yet? Reading numerous articles about farmers who are concerned that the water their dairy cows are consuming is contaminated.
The level of discounting being provided to bulk mailers is pretty substantial compared to what the rest of us pay to mail a letter. Sure, direct mailers need to do a whole lot more to ensure deliverability and reduce workload on the intake side, but even then the price is darn low, especially since the USPS still needs to deliver.
Given the losses, you can almost look at these discounts being a subsidy to the direct mailers. Why not require the same level of presort, automation, and compliance without the discounts at all?
If you want to bulk mail, you play by the rules. If mailers think they are just going to dump a million stamped letters into the blue box, let them know their mail will get shredded and they will be fined a dollar a piece.
Most direct mail response rates are so pitifully low that they are only viable with major discounts.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/135077878_Retail_real_estate_in_demand.html
What recession,it’s North NJ . All is well. Spend,spend ,spend,
The president will travel to the small town of Osawatomie, Kan., the same place where Roosevelt outlined his vision for a “New Nationalism” over a century ago.
Does this mean we all get a sickle, a hammer and a bottle of ketchup?
#13 gary
He’s just following up on the sentiment of the first speech.
“To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day”
Grim House in East Orange it is really owned by the CMBS not US Bank. Seems to be some subprime sludge acquired in the wholesale market and repackaged by Credit Suisse.
It is now “US Bank National Association, as Trustee for CSAB Mortgage-Backed Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006-3 Assignee of Mortgagee”
Interesting read on the ratings of this junk back in 2006.
http://www.investorscopes.com/CREDIT-SUISSE-FIRST-BOSTON-MORTGAGE-SECURITIES-CORP/424B5/6374923.aspx
Also they lived in the house for 19 years so it may have been a cash out refi deal in 2006.
JJ: wasnt there an actress named Carly Canyon?
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have found the biggest black holes known to exist — each one 10 billion times the size of our sun.
A team led by astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered the two gigantic black holes in clusters of elliptical galaxies more than 300 million light years away. That’s relatively close on the galactic scale.
#9. – Another Carrngton event means we go back to the Pony Express
since anything that can carry a charge will be burnt out, hope somebody has
A printed version on how to rebuild the electrical power generation systems.
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This looks an awful lot like a campaign ad; it dumbs down the issue to the level of a 6th grader so that the masses can understand it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kly8pjEU2g0
Personally, I believe that when issues like this become popular culture discussion, it is a bad sign. Yet another canary wavering on its perch in the dark of the mine.
re: US Bank vs Guillaume – If Hank Paulson had not circumvented the intent of the TARP law and actually bought the subprime MBS then Guillaume’s would not perhaps be in foreclosure.
TARP is also very far from dead. AIG still owes $50 Billon. More than 400 banks, AIG, GM, Chrysler and others still have approximately $122 billion of taxpayer money outstanding, it will take them perhaps another decade to pay it back. What about the Guillaumes bailout? They don’t get a decade or more of cheap direct government loans with a flexible pay as you can schedule.
[19] redux
Fabius, cobbler, wtf and Essex, feel free to offer the rebuttal.
More “leading indicators.”
http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/05/9227335-ready-aim-buy-why-gun-sales-spiked-on-black-friday
Three takeaways: this Black Friday beat a record set in 2008, handguns are popular, and the percentage of women buyers is increasing.
The latter two points especially are bad news for the Democrats. It suggests that one of their traditional bases, and one they have tried hard to cultivate and keep, is growing skeptical of them.
okay, gotta get something done. Got conference calls, docs to finish and places to be.
And I know it is short notice, but if anyone is up for a GTG, and if Grim doesn’t mind me making the call, I suggest this Friday, 12/9, or Thursday, 12/15, after work.
For locations, I am open and willing to hear suggestions in Essex, Union, or Hudson counties, preferably with transit access so NYC workers can easily attend. Or a location in the City is fine too.
Any interest? Sing out, or write me at nomdeplumenj@gmail.com
Vegas v. Facebook – Trying to make sure what happens in Vegas really stays there.
http://www.visitlasvegas.com/knowthecode/
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/12/las-vegas?fsrc=nlw|gul|12-6-2011|gulliver
Oh, and on RE: Fnck everybody. In the @$$. Twice.
Moose [25],
Expand. Are you referring to real estate in general? Appease my simple mind. :)
Battered by a naked bodybuilder? Sounds like a story that should have Ted Kennedy, three coeds, and “crush velour.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57337293/naked-bodybuilder-attack-leaves-couple-badly-hurt/?tag=pop;stories
http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/120611_More_people_leaving_New_Jersey_for_Pennsylvania.html
Leaving NJ? Why? It’s great here. Taxes ,no problem its for the children
[22] Anectdata for sure, but several family members and close friends, ranging in age from early 30s to late 60s, have purchased their first firearm in the past year.
Today the postal service, tomorrow the New Jersey Public School System!!!!! Wow, the money we could save with some serious changes there. On second thought, let’s all support Obama and his quest to build new school buildings in Paterson, Camden and Newark to solve our problems. Hope and Change!!!! Jobs Jobs Jobs!!!!!!
Surprised not to see moose already chiming in on the topic du jour.
BTW, moose, please disclose what you do for a living before diving in.
Euro countries spending to GDP.It is not what the media wants us to believe, a runaway spending.With th exception of Greece
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/no-its-not-the-welfare-state/
What the heck is Krugman trying to compare?
[28] freedy
If you ask the board liberals, it ain’t happening, all an illusion. And those that do move don’t do so for tax reasons.
Even my former judge, a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, decamped for PA. Now she said it was to avoid taxes (as a senior federal district court judge, her tax rate in PA is nothing because of her age), but that couldn’t possibly be the reason. Right?
This site is really beautiful, I have done everything, to find out. Congratulations to the “Creator” of this site. Very pleasant.
horoscope
spending including social services compared to % of GDP through 2010
Another Front Page Washington Post Editorial Against the Welfare State
Tuesday, 06 December 2011 08:14
The boys and girls at Fox on 15th Street are really getting excited over their hopes that the European welfare state might be dismantled. The third of paragraph of the lead front page article told readers:
“If adopted by other nations in the union, the deal would mean drastic cuts in European budgets. It would also spell the end of three decades of overspending that helped finance a cozy social protection system envied by much of the world.”
Of course the most generous welfare states who have the most “cozy” social protection systems are not facing fiscal crises. These are countries like Sweden and Denmark and even Germany, all of whom have relatively solid finances. Paul Krugman put up a nice graph on his blog yesterday showing the non-relationship between the share of government spending in GDP and the current interest rates paid by government.
Also, as people familiar with current events know, this crisis did not stem from “three decades of overspending,” it came about because of a collapse of housing bubbles in the United States and across Europe. This is the opposite of a problem of an excessive welfare state. It was a problem of a private financial sector gone wild making the reckless loans that fueled the bubble. Apparently the Post has not heard about this.
Dean Baker
Dan in debt says:
December 6, 2011 at 11:54 am
What the heck is Krugman trying to compare?
WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to end per-country caps on worker-based immigration visas, a move that should benefit skilled Indian and Chinese residents seeking to stay in the United States and the high-tech companies who hire them.
The legislation, which passed 389-15, was a rare example of bipartisan accord on immigration, an issue that largely has been avoided during the current session of Congress because of the political sensitivities involved.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-government/house-bill-ends-country-limits-for-skilled-workers-seeking-visas/2011/11/29/gIQA7BQ99N_story.html?tid=pm_pop
How many more can W.NY, N.Bergen,Fairview,Passaic,Paterson,Plainfield,Elizabeth,
Union City, Camden,Trenton,Edison,handle ?
Consider that many of these people may renounce US citizenship, and won’t end up on the quarterly publication of wealthy people who are leaving.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45567659
Consider that these are largely professionals and entrepreneurs who are leaving for opportunities overseas. They will be replaced largely by laborers and farm workers, looking for opportunities here.
“The main reason they are coming is real estate taxes,” she said. New Jersey “people tell me their taxes are $17,000 a year. My goodness, I had never heard of that.”
I’ll repeat what I said the other day: I received notice a week ago that my property taxes for 2012 are now going to be $9320. I’m on a 50 X 100 lot in a declining town.
nom [34]
Well, I hope Christie stays in office long enough to reconfigure the NJ Supreme Court and have Abbott and Mt Laurel decisions overturned… once it is done the state will be fairly competitive tax-wise, at least in the North-East; maybe there will be even some money left to fix the highways and build the rail tunnel.
And talking about “board liberals” – I don’t have any beef with Reps in NJ (except for Christie being gratuitously rude at times); I have a huge problem with Randian mentality of GOP in DC married to their desire to get into everybody’s bedroom.
(And no response to your [19] as IS doesn’t let me watch utube here…)
Gary: As long as you are in Bergen County your fine. After all ,nothing compares.
The Schools, roads,town services,shopping,parks,etc. your insulated
there was an “actress” named Christy Canyon.
has anyone seen or linked to this yet? 2012 to be worst year yet for foreclosures:
http://www.businessinsider.com/michelle-meyer-on-housing-in-2012-2011-12?source=patrick.net
freedy [42],
I’m not in Bergen County. Unicorns have been extinct here for quite some time.
National home prices have declined 33% from the peak in 1Q06 through 3Q11, returning to mid-2002 levels.
And we’re not done yet. Any Questions?
[40] gary,
To me, this is the biggest threat. As taxes creep up, home prices have to come down in order to attract buyers. Thus, I think that the drop off in NJ is still going on, and will go on longer due to the effect of taxes. This to me is a big reason that PA is eating NJ’s lunch.
This isn’t tail-wagging-dog stuff either. Taxes are a very real consideration for buyers because it goes straight to the bottom line. Also, as landlords will be more aggressive on taxes, that pushes the incremental burden onto owners. Over time, these factors will put upward pressure on rents, and downward pressure on home prices. In fact, I foresee that NJ’s tax uncertainty will result in a rental premium due to tax uncertainty (folks won’t want to lock into home ownership if they are unsure of future taxes as higher taxes will raise their PITI and drain equity).
[41] cobbler,
“gratuitously rude”
Hey, this is New Jersey. You want civility? Fuggetaboutit!
Seriously, the left is getting their panties in a bunch because Christie hits back?
Forget leaving the State, leaving the country
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45567659
Okay, in a nod to my teenage self of the 70s (she is no Bruce, but had certain other charms for a young lad):
Bergan PAC
Olivia Newton-John
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 – 8PM
“Christie being gratuitously rude at times”
Rudeness is never an option in NJ. It is a standard feature.
Good news for John:
http://www.reuters.com/video/2011/12/05/looks-matter-in-job-market-psychologists?videoId=226244286
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11334304/1/us-has-more-dollar-stores-than-drugstores.html
Hope and change. We now have more dollar stores than drug stores and we have enough drug stores in NJ to last us.
Gary,
On our non-updated (at the time) multi-family in Montclair residing on .24 of an acre of non-flat land, we were charged $13,500 for our 2,341 square foot abode after our reval in 2006. Due to Gator’s persistence, we are paying less than that still today. We should be getting our new reval results any day now. Can’t wait to see where we come in.
Freedy,
Now if we could only get them to sell drugs at the dollar stores!
[dollar store]
It is pretty interesting that there presumably used to be a decent number of nickel and dime storesback in the 30s (? – I guess…), then the whole super-discounted junk business got depressed during the prosperous years, and started re-emerging as dollar stores some 15 years ago or so… seems to be inversely tracking with the rise and decline of the middle class.
Nom #46: And yet if you ask people if they would be in favor of consolidation, they insist that they want their own little fiefdoms to remain as they are. Me? The sooner WT merges with Westwood, the better. Local government is the one area where I’m more libertarian than bleeding heart. Local governments are hotbeds of cronyism, bribery, and no-show jobs.
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JJ Religious Joke:
Holy Prostitutes…
A man is driving down a deserted stretch of highway, in Kentucky , when he notices a sign out of the corner of his eye…
It reads:
SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS HOUSE OF PROSTITUTION… 10 MILES
He thinks this is a FIGMENT OF HIS IMAGINATION, and drives on….
Soon, he sees another sign which reads:
SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS HOUSE OF PROSTITUTION… 5 MILES
Suddenly, he begins to realize that these signs are FOR REAL, and drives past a third sign, saying:
SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS HOUSE OF PROSTITUTION… NEXT RIGHT
His CURIOSITY gets the best of him, and he pulls into the drive…
On the far side of the parking lot is a stone building, with a small sign next to the door, reading:
SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS
He climbs the steps, and rings the bell…
The door is answered by a Nun, in a long black habit, who asks, “What may we do for you, my Son?”
He responds, “I saw your signs, along the highway, and was interested in possibly doing business…”
“Very well, my Son. Please follow me.” He is led, through many winding passages, and is soon quite disoriented.
The Nun stops, at a closed door, and tells the man, “Please knock, on this door.”
He does so and another Nun in a long habit, holding a tin cup, answers the door… This nun instructs, “Please place $100, in the cup; then go through the large wooden door, at the end of the hallway.”
He puts $100 in the cup, eagerly trots down the hall, and slips through the door, pulling it shut behind him.
The door locks, and he finds himself back in the parking lot facing another sign:
GO IN PEACE.
YOU HAVE JUST BEEN SCREWED, BY THE SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS.
SERVES YOU RIGHT, YOU SINNER!
It’s been a while since I posted. But, I saw this posted by a friend in Monmouth and I knew several of you here would appreciate the humor and pretty good map graphic work…
http://i.imgur.com/Pwnf4.jpg
WSJ
BUSINESS
DECEMBER 6, 2011
Oil’s Growing Thirst for Water
By RUSSELL GOLD and ANA CAMPOY
CARRIZO SPRINGS, Texas—Water has always been a concern for 65-year-old Joe Parker, who manages a 19,000-acre cattle ranch here in South Texas. “Water is scarce in our area,” he says, and a scorching yearlong drought has made it even scarcer.
What has Mr. Parker especially concerned are the drilling rigs that now dot the flat, brushy landscape. Each oil well in the area, using the technique known as hydraulic fracturing, requires about six million gallons of water to break open rocks far below the surface and release oil and natural gas. Mr. Parker says he worries about whether the underground water can support both ranching and energy exploration.
Darrell Brownlow, another cattle rancher, says that if the economically depressed region has to choose between the two, the choice should be simple.
Mr. Brownlow, who has a Ph.D. in geochemistry, says it takes 407 million gallons to irrigate 640 acres and grow about $200,000 worth of corn on the arid land. The same amount of water, he says, could be used to frack enough wells to generate $2.5 billion worth of oil. “No water, no frack, no wealth,” says Mr. Brownlow, who has leased his cattle ranch for oil exploration.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has revived prospects for oil-and-gas production in the U.S. and provided a welcome jolt to many local economies. Less than three years after its discovery, the Eagle Ford oil field here already accounts for 6% of South Texas’s economic output and supports 12,000 full-time jobs, according to a study by the University of Texas at San Antonio earlier this year, which was funded by an industry-backed group.
But fracking also is forcing communities to grapple with how to balance the economic benefits with potential costs. To date, criticism of fracking has focused mainly on concerns that the chemicals energy companies are mixing with the water could contaminate underground aquifers. Oil industry officials regard that issue as manageable. The biggest challenge to future development, they say, is simply getting access to sufficient water.
The issue isn’t just rearing its head in parched regions like South Texas. North Dakota, another big source of oil from fracked wells, is concerned about the industry depleting aquifers and has threatened to sue the federal government to free up water held by an Army Corps of Engineers dam. Oklahoma, too, is struggling to cope with the industry’s thirst.
Last year, Louisiana passed a law to regulate what it called the industry’s “unprecedented use of enormous amounts of water” that, if unchecked, has the “potential for chaos and conflicts.” In northern British Columbia, which has plenty of water, officials have required companies extracting natural gas to install expensive equipment to recycle water used for fracking. It wasn’t a pollution-control effort, but a response to local communities that didn’t want their water supplies tapped.
In Pennsylvania, the industry and state regulators have cracked down on the amount of salty water from fracking jobs being sent to water-treatment plants that weren’t designed for it. A large amount of this water is now being recycled and reused, cutting down on the amount of fresh water needed to continue developing new wells.
Fracking involves drilling deep into large swaths of dense rock where oil and gas are trapped. To crack the rocks and allow the oil or gas to flow out, energy companies inject millions of gallons of water, mixed with sand and chemicals, at high pressure.
After sending natural-gas production soaring, hydraulic fracturing now is playing a critical role in the dramatic rise of oil production in Texas and North Dakota. Many industry officials believe it will allow Ohio to become a major oil producer, and other states could follow. Oil imports are falling, prompting talk of slashing U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources.
Here in South Texas, tensions are rising as companies scramble to lock up water to drill natural-gas and oil wells. All across the state, companies have been on a buying spree, snapping up rights to scarce river water—easily outbidding traditional users such as farmers and cities. Led by Exxon Mobil Corp., they also are drilling water wells, three times as many as they did five years ago. They are even tapping into municipal water systems, though parched cities have begun cutting them off.
There is no disputing that the boom has been terrific for the local economy, and few residents are calling for an end to fracking. Demand for workers is so high that Carrizo Springs resembles a hastily built labor camp, with thousands of temporary workers filling up a dozen new recreational-vehicle parks. The city’s population has nearly doubled to about 11,000 in the past two years, say local officials. Sales-tax revenue in Dimmit County in 2011 is expected to exceed the previous five years combined. The University of Texas at San Antonio study predicted that, by 2020, the oil field will support 68,000 jobs, and its economic output will increase nearly ninefold.
Compared with demands from cities, farmers and even power plants, the amount of water needed to develop oil and gas wells in Texas is small. In September, the Texas Water Development Board released a draft of the 2012 Texas water plan—a report prepared once every five years. It said 56% of water in Texas goes to commercial crops; 26.9% to cities and public-water systems; 9.6% to manufacturing, including refineries; 4.1% to power generation; 1.8% for livestock; and 1.6% to mining, which includes oil-and-gas drilling.
But the report noted that the rise of fracking has been so sudden and steep that it wasn’t really integrated into the report. In addition, the oil-industry’s water use is concentrated in select parts of the state, magnifying the impact in those places.
Fewer than 2,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled in the past couple of years in South Texas. The industry expects that number to climb to as many as 25,000 over the next couple of decades.
cont’d
Eagle Ford oil wells are the most profitable of the thousands being drilled into shale rocks nationwide each year, according to an analysis by Credit Suisse Group.
Because of the geology of the Eagle Ford, each oil or gas well there uses the equivalent of 10 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of water—nearly twice as much as needed for wells in the Barnett Shale field in North Texas, according to industry and academic data. Most of the water injected into shale wells nationwide is absorbed by the rocks and isn’t available for recycling. At the Eagle Ford, practically none of it is recycled.
Most Eagle Ford wells draw water from the Carrizo aquifer. That aquifer “is already stressed, and now you are adding an additional demand,” says Ronald Green, a hydrologist at Southwest Research Institute, a nonprofit research-and-development organization in San Antonio that does scientific analysis for the government and industry.
Studies by hydrologists and geologists suggest more than twice as much water in recent years has been drawn from the aquifer as has been recharged by rain. And that was before the Eagle Ford energy boom started.
Last year, oil companies drilled 2,232 new water wells throughout Texas, about three times as many as five years earlier, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Texas Water Development Board records. More oil wells are expected, and as the industry refines its techniques and drills longer wells, the amount of water used for each well is climbing.
The oil industry has long believed that its thirst for water could cause problems. The American Petroleum Institute, a Washington-based industry trade association, warned against using fresh water for fracking in its 2010 best-practices advice. In an email, the institute said the industry should consider nonpotable water “whenever practicable,” but decisions must be made on a “case-by-case basis.”
cont’d
Some companies are taking steps to use less potable water. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. says it is exploring whether it could extract water from a deep, salty aquifer unfit for people or crops. Devon Energy Corp. has begun recycling a small percentage of the water it uses for fracking.
“We need to be ahead of the curve on some options should there come a time that water is not so readily available as it is today, through drought or regulatory issues,” says Jay Ewing, a Devon manager in North Texas.
In Texas, the industry’s thirst puts it in direct competition for water with traditional users, which already are drawing more water from aquifers because of the drought. Ranchers have had to lower the pumps in their wells to find enough water.
Kenneth Braden, a 61-year-old rancher who raises cotton southeast of Midland, Texas, says his water wells now pump half as much as last year. He blames the drought and what he says is the “overwhelming” amount of water used for fracking.
Mr. Braden doesn’t favor shutting down the wells, which he realizes provide lots of jobs. He says he wants the companies to figure out ways to use fewer gallons. He has tried to raise the issue with them, he says, but hasn’t gotten a response. “They’re just so much bigger and more powerful than we are,” he says. “We’re just kind of the little ant that gets squashed.”
Under Texas law, an oil company that has the mineral lease on a property has the right to tap aquifers without the consent of landowners.
Dan Waldrop owns 1,200 acres in LaSalle County, about halfway between San Antonio and Laredo, but he doesn’t own the mineral rights. The energy company that does has drawn nearly 30 million gallons of water so far from a well it drilled on his property.
He says he is considering trying to make the company pay for it. “In the deed, it says they have the use of the water, and it doesn’t say they have free use,” he says.
In addition to tapping underground aquifers, oil companies are interested in water from Texas rivers. They have acquired—or are currently seeking to acquire—from local irrigation authorities the rights to nearly 40,000 acre-feet of water a year. That is enough to supply nearly a quarter-million people for a year.
One source has been the Rio Grande. Cities along the river, which are among the fastest growing in the state, draw from it to supply water to residents.
“This is a major concern for us,” says Juan Hinojosa, a Democratic state senator from McAllen who represents the area. “The oil companies have a lot more money than we do to buy water rights.”
The intense drought over the summer exacerbated the water concerns of cities. More than 964 public water systems, covering 14.7 million Texans, have imposed voluntary or mandatory restrictions, according to the state.
This summer, the city of Grand Prairie, near Fort Worth, stopped selling water to oil companies as part of its drought-contingency measures, which also included lawn-watering restrictions.
Oil companies have long been exempt from most Texas state water rules and permitting requirements, but the state has begun to take a fresh look at the industry’s ability to drill water wells wherever they have acquired rights to extract oil and gas. Texas oil regulators have convened a task force to look at a range of issues related to the Eagle Ford boom.
Mark McPherson, a Dallas-based water-rights lawyer who has represented both ranchers and oil companies, expects conflicts over water to increase as hydraulic fracturing expands. Texas resource-development laws are designed to encourage the oil industry to produce as much as possible, he says, but in recent years, the state’s water use rules have been geared toward conservation.
Gotta love this, like there really is honor amongst thieves.
“It’s just too embarrassing for a former U.S. Senator and someone close to the president to take the Fifth,” said one person who knows Corzine.
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/12/06/exclusive-kiss-mf-global-money-goodbye-sources-say/#ixzz1fnBUfXNU
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/12/06/exclusive-kiss-mf-global-money-goodbye-sources-say/
#66 Juice
I think Ari Fleischer takes the trophy for 5th closest to the pres.
http://www.cogburnlaw.com/las_vegas_fdcpa_lawyer.html Thanks for that awesome posting. It saved MUCH time :-)
The new land rush is on:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/8939417/Graphic-An-estate-agents-guide-to-habitable-planets.html
Graphic: An estate agent’s guide to habitable planets
[67] fabius
Watergate hearings, perhaps?
Pretty darned accurate…
http://i.imgur.com/Pwnf4.jpg
Nice:
http://thechive.com/2011/12/06/finally-a-apocalypse-proof-house-exists-17-photos/
60. Chi,
“Last Call at the Oasis”
A powerful new documentary that shatters myths behind
our most precious resource. From the company that brought you
“An Inconvenient Truth” and “Waiting for ‘Superman’” .
Save the date
Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
Crossroads Theatre Company
7 Livingston Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
could she be one of my neighbors? maybe
Shadow of John says:
December 6, 2011 at 10:34 pm
Take this one for instance. Or I will.
http://coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/2011-sexy-halloween-costume-less-5.jpg
[73] essex
come on, keep up. That Nompound candidate was posted here months ago. There was also a live shot of a similar one, just without the silo (I think).
I knew I should have bought that old bunker overlooking Amherst. Would have been beautiful.
[72] gator
damn!
jill (56)-
The only local gubmint anyone needs is a well-stocked personal arsenal, a big dog that will bite intruders and an electric fence.
Any time any group of people- other than the Founding Fathers- organizes in the name of “government”, it is nothing more than a criminal racket forming under the banner and guise of goodness and civic duty.
I figured. But I do love to see it every time. Something about that basement door.
Continent Failure Friday?
“Three months ago, Zero Hedge presented the first of many narratives that started the thread of explaining the “unmitigated disaster” that would ensue should the Euro break up, which in the words of authors Stephane Deo and Larry Hatheway, would leads to such mutually assured destruction outcomes as complete bank failure and/or civil war or far worse. Because if there is one thing the banks have learned in the aftermath of Hank Paulson, is that scaremongering when bonuses are at stake is the only to get taxpayer money to fund exorbitant lifestyles.,, Today, Larry Hataway has released yet another sequel to the original piece, focusing on this so very critical week for Europe, which as Olli Rehn said, must find a solution by Friday or see the EU “disintegrate”, in which the vivid imagery, loud warnings and level of destruction are even greater than before. In other words, Europe has 4 more days, something which S&P tried it best to remind Europe of, as the alternative is “or else.” And here comes UBS to remind everyone that anything but a “fix” to a system that was broken from the very beginning, would be a catastrophe, captured probably the best in Hatheway’s recommendations of assets to be bought as a hedge to a Euro collapse: “I suppose there might be some assets worthy of consideration—precious metals, for example. But other metals would make wise investments, too. Among them tinned goods and small calibre weapons.” But even that is nothing compared to the kicker: “Break-up runs the risk of becoming one wretched scenario. Sadly, however, it can’t be ruled out, just as it would have been improper to rule out the horrors of the first half of the 20th century before they happened.” And there you have it: a reversion by Europe to the perfectly stable system from a decade ago, is now somehow supposed to result in World War. And with that the global banking cartel has official jumped the shark, just like the FT’s latest rumor earlier today did the same by indicating that the well of European “bailout” ideas has officially run dry.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/ubs-advice-what-buy-case-eurozone-breakup-precious-metals-tinned-goods-and-small-calibre-weapon