The Environmental Protection Agency aims to sharply reduce emissions from natural gas wells through new rules issued Wednesday April 18, 2012 that call for the use of "green completions" that capture pollutants rather than releasing them into the air.

The effort is the first by the federal government to set national air pollution standards for emissions related to hydraulic fracturing, the production technique pioneered in North Texas' Barnett Shale.

In a concession to the industry, the green-completion rule does not take effect until 2015, although other measures apply in 60 days. The delay is justified, the EPA said, because producers don't have enough equipment to meet the rules.

"By ensuring the capture of gases that were previously released to pollute our air and threaten our climate, these updated standards will protect our health, but also lead to more product for fuel suppliers to bring to market," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement.

Because of the new rules, Fort Worth might require green completions on new wells in the city, Councilman Jungus Jordan said. The city had rejected changes to its drilling ordinance that would have required "best practices" that included green completions.

Jordan said Wednesday that in light of the EPA rules, "I think now I'll recommend the City Council enact that requirement," perhaps sooner than 2015 if it has the authority to do so.