PITTSBURGH — The head of Pennsylvania’s leading natural gas industry group said Friday that she’ll be stepping down this fall.

Marcellus Shale Coalition CEO Kathryn Klaber said she’s proud of what the group has accomplished during the past four years. The coalition of drillers, pipeline companies and other industry-related businesses includes Chevron, Peoples Natural Gas, Range Resources, and Talisman Energy, among others.

C. Alan Walker, secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development, said Klaber “really helped lay the groundwork for the success of the industry.”

Coalition chair Dave Spigelmyer said the group is grateful for Klaber’s tireless efforts. When the coalition was founded in 2008 Pennsylvania produced negligible amounts of natural gas, but production from the Marcellus Shale formation has boomed since then.

Klaber said she’s proud of the group’s record on environmental issues. For example, the coalition supported a voluntary ban on taking drilling wastewater to municipal treatment plants in 2011 after scientists said the waste was threatening waterways.