The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc. (SME) is pleased to announce that it has been invited to join the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Strategic Sciences Group (SSG). The SSG provides science-based assessments and interdisciplinary scenarios of environmental crises affecting Department of Interior resources. Teams of trained scientists will conduct assessments during environmental crises and provide the results of their work to the Secretary of the Interior and departmental leadership to support decision making during crises.

“As the largest professional society in the mining industry, SME is pleased to provide access to industry experts and scientists with the skill sets required by the SSG in any specific crisis situation,” said SME Executive Director David L. Kanagy. “SME will be playing an integral role in identifying experts to participate in events for which the SSG is deployed. Our members will provide rapid response counsel that the deployment team needs to make informed decisions.”

Established within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, Secretarial Order 3188 created the SSG, which works across the environmental, economic and social consequences of disaster events and, therefore, requires access to a broad set of knowledge using teams of experts pertinent to the crisis at hand. As a collaborating society, SME joins other members of the Group including scientists from government, academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to lend expertise and assistance to federal, state and local agencies as necessary. During non-crisis times, the Group will develop science-based assessments, scenarios and methods, and make preparations for activating crisis science teams.