This Article investigates the tax bases of local jurisdictions that have imposed bans on horizontal slickwater fracturing, colloquially known as fracking. Local governments that draw little additional revenue from fracking are more likely to ban the practice because of environmental concerns. The correlation between the issuance of local fracking bans and the relative absence of additional local revenue from fracking suggests the importance of taxation in the determination of the proper balance between federal, state, and local governments in the process of making environmental policy.
