HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett says often controversial Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer is stepping down.

Corbett said this morning that Krancer will return to private law practice in Montgomery County April 15.

Krancer helped oversee Corbett’s Marcellus Shale advisory commission and has run the agency in charge of regulating Pennsylvania’s natural gas boom.

Corbett says the agency was in good hands with Krancer.

But Krancer often clashed with environmental advocates, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Democratic lawmakers.