…Mark Haggerty, an analyst with Headwaters Economics in Montana, who has studied how shale oil booms have played out in other states, said local governments often wait two years to get the bulk of the tax revenue that comes from fracking.
That’s because production taxes don’t kick in until a well is producing oil, long after a community is beset by transient workers and truck traffic. The same goes for severance taxes on oil and gas taken from the ground, which would flow to the state’s coffers. Property taxes aren’t levied until after an assessment is made and aren’t paid immediately.
“These communities can fall behind pretty quickly,” Haggerty said. At stake is an estimated 4 billion barrels of oil, an amount equal to what Illinois has historically produced through traditional drilling, according to the Illinois Oil and Gas Association. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said the New Albany shale play, which encompasses parts of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky, also holds 11 trillion cubic feet of shale gas. That’s enough to meet the needs of about 5 million households for 30 years, according to the American Gas Association.…