KANE — Dealing with abandoned and inactive oil and gas wells is a major concern of state regulators as well as traditional oil and gas operators in western Pennsylvania.

The issue will be discussed as part of the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association’s spring meeting March 21 at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.

A session titled “Legacy Wells — Overview and Management” will feature Dr. Terry Engelder, professor emeritus of geosciences at Penn State University, along with Lindsay Byron and Harry Wise of DEP’s oil and gas program.

They will discuss the scope of the abandoned well issue and the approach state regulators are taking, including encouraging oil and gas operators and other parties to plug wells under a “Good Samaritan” program.

Another matter of concern to oil and gas operators is finding affordable solutions for disposing of wastewater from their wells. David Rectenwald of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will address one of these options — underground injection wells in Pennsylvania.

“As much as we like to talk about the success of the Marcellus Shale in making Pennsylvania the nation’s number-two natural gas producing state, we as an industry also have to help look after our traditional oil and gas producers,” said Dan Weaver, PIOGA president and executive director. “These small companies play a critical role in meeting the need for crude oil and natural gas and are significant sources of direct and indirect employment in rural parts of our Commonwealth.”

The daylong PIOGA conference will include a wide range of other speakers and topics, including market outlooks, pipeline expansion, “inconvenient facts” about climate change, developments in oil and gas leases, and a perspective on what’s happening in Harrisburg by Speaker of the House Mike Turzai. The keynote speaker is Steven Winberg, assistant secretary for fossil energy at the U.S. Department of Energy.

For more information, visit www.pioga.org.