81_FR_18705 81 FR 18643 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for a Prize Competition Seeking: Detecting the Movement of Soils (Internal Erosion) Within Earthen Dams, Canals, Levees, and their Foundations

81 FR 18643 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for a Prize Competition Seeking: Detecting the Movement of Soils (Internal Erosion) Within Earthen Dams, Canals, Levees, and their Foundations

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 62 (March 31, 2016)

Page Range18643-18645
FR Document2016-07275

The Bureau of Reclamation, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is seeking new methods for detecting the movement (erosion) of soils in earthen structures and foundations. These methods may detect internal erosion either directly or indirectly (detecting properties that typically indicate internal erosion is taking place). The goal is to detect soil movement earlier than occurs by current visual inspection and instrumentation methods.

Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 62 (Thursday, March 31, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 62 (Thursday, March 31, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18643-18645]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07275]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR08100000, 16XR0680A1, RY.1541CH20.60IR161]


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for a Prize 
Competition Seeking: Detecting the Movement of Soils (Internal Erosion) 
Within Earthen Dams, Canals, Levees, and their Foundations

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation, in collaboration with the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, is seeking new methods for detecting the movement 
(erosion) of soils in earthen structures and foundations. These methods 
may detect internal erosion either directly or indirectly (detecting 
properties that typically indicate internal erosion is taking place). 
The goal is to detect soil movement earlier than occurs by current 
visual inspection and instrumentation methods.

DATES: Listed below are the specific dates pertaining to this prize 
competition:
    1. Submission period begins on March 31, 2016.
    2. A webinar concerning this prize competition will be held on 
April 7, 2016. Instructions for participating in the webinar are 
included in the on-line postings at the addresses shown below. The 
webinar will also be recorded and posted at these same addresses.
    3. Submission period ends on May 10, 2016.
    4. Judging period ends on July 11, 2016.
    5. Winners announced by July 29, 2016.

[[Page 18644]]


ADDRESSES: The Detecting the Movement of Soils (Internal Erosion) 
Within Earthen Dams, Canals, Levees, and their Foundations Prize 
Competition will be posted on the following crowd-sourcing platforms 
where Solvers can register for this prize competition:
    1. The Water Pavilion located at the InnoCentive Challenge Center: 
https://www.innocentive.com/ar/challenge/browse.
    2. U.S. Federal Government Challenge Platform: www.Challenge.gov.
    InnoCentive, Inc. is administering this challenge under a challenge 
support services contract with the Bureau of Reclamation. Challenge.gov 
will re-direct the Solver community to the InnoCentive Challenge Center 
as the administrator for this prize competition. Additional details for 
this prize competition, including background information, figures, and 
the Challenge Agreement specific for this prize competition, can be 
accessed through either of these prize competition web addresses. The 
Challenge Agreement contains more details of the prize competition 
rules and terms that Solvers must agree with to be eligible to compete.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Challenge Manager: Dr. David Raff, 
Science Advisor, Bureau of Reclamation, (202) 513-0516, [email protected]; 
Dr. Bobbi Jo Merten, (303) 445-2380, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is 
announcing the following prize competition in compliance with 15 U.S. 
Code 3719, Prize Competitions.
    Prize Competition Summary: According to the American Society of 
Civil Engineers' 2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure, there 
are nearly 160,000 kilometers of levees and 85,000 dams that provide 
flood protection, water storage, and hydropower services for millions 
of people in the United States. Many of these dams are owned and 
operated by Reclamation or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). 
The USACE also owns and manages a significant portion of the nation's 
levee inventory. There are also thousands of kilometers of water 
delivery canals in the United States, with Reclamation owning about 
13,000 kilometers of such. Some of these structures are over one-
hundred years old, so it is important to ensure that the structures are 
sound, performing well, and able to continue providing the critical 
services of storing water, delivering water, and flood protection.
    Both Reclamation and USACE monitor, inspect, and assess the 
condition and performance of dams and other earthen embankments. While 
inspection and condition assessment programs are effective ways to 
protect the public and property, these current methods are resource 
intensive and cannot reliably detect internal erosion early in the 
process. Internal erosion can take place over a long period of time, 
but often remains invisible (inside or below the structure) until 
serious damage occurs, placing lives, property, critical water supply 
or flood retention capabilities at risk. The ability to reliably detect 
internal erosion early in the process would help Reclamation, USACE, 
and all dam, levee, and canal owners to reduce risks by encouraging 
early-intervention.
    There are several internal erosion mechanisms, but all involve the 
movement of soil to an exit point. If soil movement can be detected and 
localized inside the structure in the early stages of erosion, flaws 
could be mitigated and failures prevented. A solution is being pursued 
through a prize competition because the Bureau of Reclamation and the 
collaborating Federal agencies view it beneficial to seek innovative 
solutions from those beyond the usual sources of potential solvers and 
experts that commonly work in the geotechnical engineering domain. We 
find ourselves often wondering if someone, somewhere, may know a better 
way of detecting internal erosion in embankments than the methods we 
currently use. The prize competition approach enables us to reach a new 
source of potential Solvers to generate new and timely solutions that 
would not likely be accomplished by standard contractual methods.
    This is an Ideation Challenge, which has the following unique 
features:
     There is a guaranteed award. The awards will be paid to 
the best submission(s) as solely determined by the Seeker. The total 
payout will be $20,000, with at least one award being no smaller than 
$5,000 and no award being less than $2,500.
     All intellectual property rights, if any, in the idea or 
concept demonstrated by the proposed solution will remain with the 
solver. Upon submission of a proposed solution to this challenge, each 
solver grants to the seeker a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, 
non-exclusive license and right to use, disclose, reproduce, prepare 
derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly 
and display publicly, in any manner and for any purpose, and to have or 
permit others to do so. Notwithstanding granting the seeker a 
perpetula, non-exclusive license for the proposed solution, the solver 
retains ownership of the idea or concept demonstrated by the proposed 
solution.
     The Seeker believes there might be a potential for future 
collaboration with awarded Solver(s), although such collaboration is 
not guaranteed. The Seeker may also encourage Solver(s) to further 
develop and test their winning submissions through subsequent round(s) 
of competition. Solvers should make it clear if they have the ability 
for subsequent design and development phases and would be willing to 
consider future collaborations and/or subsequent competitions.
    Technical Requirements. Any proposed solution should address some 
or all of the following technical requirements. You must meet 
requirement No. 5 but need not meet all other requirements to be 
eligible for an award.
    1. Provide a 3D spatial representation of the earthen structure and 
associated foundation (to a depth equal to the height of the 
embankment), identifying zones of active internal erosion.
    a. Levees and canals are relatively lower in height (~1 to 3 
meters), but longer in length (1000+ meters).
    b. Dams are relatively greater in height (up to 100+ meters), but 
shorter in length.
    2. Detect internal erosion before it is visible at the ground 
surface. A zone (volume) of unstable moving particles on the order of 1 
cubic meter at any location within or under the embankment is 
considered significant for the internal erosion process. Methods that 
can detect the movement of smaller volumes of particles are preferred.
    3. Allow for a time lapse monitoring interval on the order of weeks 
to months. Preferably the monitoring of the embankment would be 
continuous and provided with alarm capability based on predefined 
thresholds.
    4. Quantify a rate of particle movement, preferably a rate of 
growth of internal erosion features.
    5. NOT compromise the structural integrity of the embankment or 
foundation materials; it must be environmentally inert, and must adhere 
to a philosophy of ``do no harm''.
    Although direct measures of internal erosion are preferred, 
indirect measurements of internal erosion, such as approaches that 
monitor changes to the phreatic surface or saturation of the embankment 
will be considered as well.
    Project Deliverables: This is an Ideation Challenge that requires 
only a written proposal to be submitted. At

[[Page 18645]]

least one solution will be deemed the winner. The submission should 
include:
    1. Detailed description of a direct or indirect method for 
detecting internal erosion that is not widely used today. Only 
significant improvements to existing methods will be considered for 
award.
    2. Rationale for why the method can meet the technical requirements 
above. Note: A general concept is needed, but is not considered a 
solution by itself. The Solver must describe with ``a high level of 
technical detail'' how the system would meet or not meet each of the 
attributes described above. The Solver should expect that their 
submittal will be reviewed by experts in multiple fields of engineering 
and science. Examples and literature references of where similar 
techniques are used and how they are used will be helpful to support 
the validity of the solution.
    3. A list of equipment and materials is required. Discussion should 
include expected lifetime of any equipment; size and invasiveness to 
the embankment structure; detection speed, accuracy and estimated 
costs.
    4. The Solver needs to describe how deployable and workable the 
system would be under a wide variety of environmental conditions such 
as those found in typical dam, levee and canal embankments.
    The discussion accompanying the Solver's proposal should:
    5. Clearly identify detection limits of methods, such as: What is 
the minimum size of soil particle the method can detect? Does the 
baseline condition of the embankment, groundwater, or ambient 
environment impact the performance of the method?
    6. Identify how and where the method will be installed. Is the 
method weather proof and tamper proof? Are there any limitations to the 
method installation or conditions required for performance?
    7. Identify the temporal resolution or temporal limitations of the 
solution. How long does the method take to deploy? What are measurement 
and processing time limitations?
    Submitted proposals should not include any personally identifiable 
information that the Solver does not want to make public, or any 
information that the Solver may consider as their own Intellectual 
Property which they do not want to share.
    Judging: After the Challenge deadline, the Seeker will evaluate the 
submissions and make a decision with regards to the Winning 
Solution(s). All Solvers that submitted a proposal will be notified on 
the status of their submissions; however, no detailed evaluation of 
individual submissions will be provided. Decisions by the Seeker cannot 
be contested.
    Submitted solutions will be evaluated by a Judging Panel composed 
of scientists, engineers, and other technical experts. The Judging 
Panel will also have consultation access to technical experts outside 
of their expertise, as deemed necessary, to evaluate specific 
submissions. The Judging Panel will assess the merits of the solution 
by the degree upon which they meet the technical requirements provided 
above, by the potential utility (i.e., adaptability, scalability, 
readiness for development), and by originality (i.e., novel extension 
of current knowledge).
    Eligibility Rules: To be able to win a prize under this 
competition, an individual or entity must:
    1. Agree to the rules of the competition (15 U.S. Code Sec.  
3719(g)(1));
    2. Be an entity that is incorporated in and maintains a primary 
place of business in the United States, or (b) in the case of an 
individual, a citizen or permanent resident of the United States (15 
U.S. Code Sec.  3719(g)(3));
    3. Not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the 
scope of their employment; (15 U.S. Code Sec.  3719(g)(4));
    4. Assume risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and 
its related entities (15 U.S. Code Sec.  3719(i)(1)(B)); and,
    5. Not use Federal facilities, or consult with Federal employees 
during the competition unless the facilities and employees are made 
available to all individuals and entities participating in the 
competition on an equitable basis.
    The following individuals or entities are not eligible regardless 
of whether they meet the criteria set forth above:
    1. Any individual who employs an evaluator on the Judging Panel or 
otherwise has a material business relationship or affiliation with any 
Judge.
    2. Any individual who is a member of any Judge's immediate family 
or household.
    3. The Seeker, participating organizations, and any advertising 
agency, contractor or other individual or organization involved with 
the design, production, promotion, execution, or distribution of the 
prize competition; all employees, representatives and agents thereof; 
and all members of the immediate family or household of any such 
individual, employee, representative, or agent.
    4. Any individual or entity that uses Federal funds to develop the 
proposed solution now or any time in the past, unless such use is 
consistent with the grant award, or other applicable Federal funds 
awarding document. NOTE: Submissions that propose to improve or adapt 
existing federally funded technologies for the solution sought in this 
prize competition are eligible.
    Consultation: Geotechnical engineers, facility managers, and 
technical specialists from across Reclamation and USACE were consulted 
in identifying and selecting the topic of this prize competition. 
Direct and indirect input from various stakeholders and partners 
associated with the geotechnical engineering program efforts by these 
agencies were also considered. In addition, the Reclamation maintains 
an open invitation to the public to suggest prize competition topics at 
www.usbr.gov/research/challenges.
    Public Disclosure: InnoCentive, Inc. is administering this 
challenge under a challenge support services contract with Reclamation. 
Participation is conditioned on providing the data required on 
InnoCentive's online registration form. Personal data will be processed 
in accordance with InnoCentive's Privacy Policy which can be located at 
http://www.innocentive.com/privacy.php. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your proposal, you should be aware that the Seeker is under no 
obligation to withhold such information from public disclosure, and it 
may be made publicly available at any time. Neither InnoCentive nor the 
Seeker is responsible for human error, theft, destruction, or damage to 
proposed solutions, or other factors beyond its reasonable control. 
Solver assumes any and all risks and waives any and all claims against 
the Seeker and its related entities, except in the case of willful 
misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, 
revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, 
arising from participation in this competition, whether the injury, 
death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.

    Dated: March 28, 2016.
 David Raff,
Science Advisor .
[FR Doc. 2016-07275 Filed 3-30-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4332-90-P



                                                                               Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2016 / Notices                                                  18643

                                                  The information to be collected                         DATES:   BLM Alaska must receive all                  SUMMARY:   This notice corrects two dates
                                                  includes: Full legal name; correct                      nominations and comments on these                     that appear in the SUPPLEMENTARY
                                                  mailing address; taxpayer identifying                   tracts for consideration on or before May             INFORMATION section of a notice that
                                                  number; water delivery location; if                     2, 2016.                                              published in the Federal Register on
                                                  subdividing a farm unit—a copy of the                   ADDRESSES: Mail nominations and/or                    Wednesday, March 23, 2016 (81 FR
                                                  recorded plat or map of the subdivision                 comments to: State Director, Bureau of                15555).
                                                  where water will be delivered; the time                 Land Management, Alaska State Office,                    On page 15555, column 3, line 24 of
                                                  and date of requested water delivery;                   222 West 7th Ave., Mailstop 13,                       the notice, which reads ‘‘Wednesday,
                                                  duration of water delivery; amount of                   Anchorage, AK 99513–7504. Before                      April, 13, 2015,’’ is corrected to read,
                                                  water delivered; rate of water flow;                    including your address, phone number,                 ‘‘Wednesday, April 13, 2016.’’
                                                  number of acres irrigated; crop statistics;             email address, or other personal                         On page 15555, column 3, line 35 of
                                                  any other agreements allowed under 25                   identifying information in your                       the notice, which reads ‘‘Thursday,
                                                  CFR part 171; and any additional                        nominations and/or comment, you                       September 3, 2015’’ is corrected to read,
                                                  information required by the local project               should be aware that your entire                      ‘‘Thursday, April 14, 2016.’’
                                                  office that provides your service.                      comment—including your personal                       Kristin Bail,
                                                     Type of Review: Extension without                    identifying information—may be made                   Acting Assistant Director, Resources and
                                                  change of currently approved collection.                publicly available at any time. While                 Planning.
                                                     Respondents: Water users of BIA                      you can ask us in your comment to                     [FR Doc. 2016–07273 Filed 3–30–16; 8:45 am]
                                                  irrigation project—individual and                       withhold your personal identifying                    BILLING CODE 4310–84–P
                                                  businesses.                                             information from public review, we
                                                     Number of Respondents: 7,500 per                     cannot guarantee that we will be able to
                                                  year.                                                   do so.                                                DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
                                                     Number of Responses: 34,906 per
                                                                                                          FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                  year.                                                                                                         Bureau of Reclamation
                                                     Frequency of Response: On occasion                   Wayne Svejnoha, BLM Alaska Energy
                                                  through the irrigation season, averaging                and Minerals Branch Chief, 907–271–                   [RR08100000, 16XR0680A1,
                                                  approximately 2 times per year.                         4407. Persons who use a                               RY.1541CH20.60IR161]
                                                     Obligation to Respond: The                           telecommunications device for the deaf
                                                                                                          (TDD) may call the Federal Information                Announcement of Requirements and
                                                  information water users submit is for
                                                                                                          Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339                Registration for a Prize Competition
                                                  the purpose of obtaining or retaining a
                                                                                                          to contact the above individual during                Seeking: Detecting the Movement of
                                                  benefit, namely irrigation water.
                                                     Estimated Time per Response: A                       normal business hours. The FIRS is                    Soils (Internal Erosion) Within Earthen
                                                  range of 12 minutes to 16 hours,                        available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,              Dams, Canals, Levees, and their
                                                  depending on the specific service being                 to leave a message or question with the               Foundations
                                                  requested.                                              above individual. You will receive a                  AGENCY:   Bureau of Reclamation,
                                                     Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden:                  reply during normal business hours.                   Interior.
                                                  17,943 hours.                                           SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM                    ACTION: Notice.
                                                     Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour                      is issuing a call for nominations and
                                                  Dollar Cost: $0.                                        comments on tracts for the upcoming                   SUMMARY:   The Bureau of Reclamation,
                                                                                                          2016 NPR–A Oil and Gas Lease Sale,                    in collaboration with the U.S. Army
                                                  Elizabeth K. Appel,
                                                                                                          pursuant to 43 CFR 3131.2. When                       Corps of Engineers, is seeking new
                                                  Director, Office of Regulatory Affairs and                                                                    methods for detecting the movement
                                                  Collaborative Action—Indian Affairs.                    describing tracts nominated for leasing
                                                                                                          or providing comments, please use the                 (erosion) of soils in earthen structures
                                                  [FR Doc. 2016–07187 Filed 3–30–16; 8:45 am]
                                                                                                          NPR–A maps, legal descriptions of the                 and foundations. These methods may
                                                  BILLING CODE 4337–15–P                                                                                        detect internal erosion either directly or
                                                                                                          tracts, and additional information
                                                                                                          available through the BLM Alaska Web                  indirectly (detecting properties that
                                                                                                          site at http://www.blm.gov/ak. The BLM                typically indicate internal erosion is
                                                  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR                                                                                    taking place). The goal is to detect soil
                                                                                                          also requests comments on tracts which
                                                  Bureau of Land Management                               should receive special consideration or               movement earlier than occurs by current
                                                                                                          analysis.                                             visual inspection and instrumentation
                                                  [16X.LLAK930000.L13100000.EI0000.241A]                                                                        methods.
                                                                                                          Bud C. Cribley,
                                                  Call for Nominations and Comments                                                                             DATES: Listed below are the specific
                                                                                                          State Director.
                                                  for the 2016 National Petroleum                                                                               dates pertaining to this prize
                                                                                                          [FR Doc. 2016–07272 Filed 3–30–16; 8:45 am]
                                                  Reserve in Alaska Oil and Gas Lease                                                                           competition:
                                                                                                          BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P                                  1. Submission period begins on March
                                                  Sale
                                                                                                                                                                31, 2016.
                                                  AGENCY:   Bureau of Land Management,                                                                            2. A webinar concerning this prize
                                                  Interior.                                               DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR                            competition will be held on April 7,
                                                  ACTION: Notice.                                         Bureau of Land Management                             2016. Instructions for participating in
                                                                                                                                                                the webinar are included in the on-line
                                                  SUMMARY:   The Bureau of Land                           [LLWO260000.L10600000.PC0000.                         postings at the addresses shown below.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                  Management (BLM) Alaska State Office                    LXSIADVSBD00]                                         The webinar will also be recorded and
                                                  is issuing a call for nominations and                                                                         posted at these same addresses.
                                                  comments on tracts for the upcoming                     Notice of Wild Horse and Burro                          3. Submission period ends on May 10,
                                                  2016 National Petroleum Reserve in                      Advisory Board Meeting; Correction                    2016.
                                                  Alaska (NPR–A) Oil and Gas Lease Sale.                  AGENCY:   Bureau of Land Management,                    4. Judging period ends on July 11,
                                                  A map of the NPR–A showing areas                        Interior.                                             2016.
                                                  available for leasing is online at                                                                              5. Winners announced by July 29,
                                                                                                          ACTION: Correction.
                                                  http://www.blm.gov/ak.                                                                                        2016.


                                             VerDate Sep<11>2014   19:09 Mar 30, 2016   Jkt 238001   PO 00000   Frm 00080   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\31MRN1.SGM   31MRN1


                                                  18644                        Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2016 / Notices

                                                  ADDRESSES:   The Detecting the                             Both Reclamation and USACE                         Notwithstanding granting the seeker a
                                                  Movement of Soils (Internal Erosion)                    monitor, inspect, and assess the                      perpetula, non-exclusive license for the
                                                  Within Earthen Dams, Canals, Levees,                    condition and performance of dams and                 proposed solution, the solver retains
                                                  and their Foundations Prize                             other earthen embankments. While                      ownership of the idea or concept
                                                  Competition will be posted on the                       inspection and condition assessment                   demonstrated by the proposed solution.
                                                  following crowd-sourcing platforms                      programs are effective ways to protect                  • The Seeker believes there might be
                                                  where Solvers can register for this prize               the public and property, these current                a potential for future collaboration with
                                                  competition:                                            methods are resource intensive and                    awarded Solver(s), although such
                                                     1. The Water Pavilion located at the                 cannot reliably detect internal erosion               collaboration is not guaranteed. The
                                                  InnoCentive Challenge Center: https://                  early in the process. Internal erosion can            Seeker may also encourage Solver(s) to
                                                  www.innocentive.com/ar/challenge/                       take place over a long period of time,                further develop and test their winning
                                                  browse.                                                 but often remains invisible (inside or                submissions through subsequent
                                                     2. U.S. Federal Government Challenge                 below the structure) until serious                    round(s) of competition. Solvers should
                                                  Platform: www.Challenge.gov.                            damage occurs, placing lives, property,               make it clear if they have the ability for
                                                     InnoCentive, Inc. is administering this              critical water supply or flood retention              subsequent design and development
                                                  challenge under a challenge support                     capabilities at risk. The ability to                  phases and would be willing to consider
                                                  services contract with the Bureau of                    reliably detect internal erosion early in             future collaborations and/or subsequent
                                                  Reclamation. Challenge.gov will re-                     the process would help Reclamation,                   competitions.
                                                  direct the Solver community to the                      USACE, and all dam, levee, and canal                    Technical Requirements. Any
                                                  InnoCentive Challenge Center as the                     owners to reduce risks by encouraging                 proposed solution should address some
                                                  administrator for this prize competition.               early-intervention.                                   or all of the following technical
                                                  Additional details for this prize                          There are several internal erosion                 requirements. You must meet
                                                  competition, including background                       mechanisms, but all involve the                       requirement No. 5 but need not meet all
                                                  information, figures, and the Challenge                 movement of soil to an exit point. If soil            other requirements to be eligible for an
                                                  Agreement specific for this prize                       movement can be detected and localized                award.
                                                  competition, can be accessed through                    inside the structure in the early stages                1. Provide a 3D spatial representation
                                                  either of these prize competition web                   of erosion, flaws could be mitigated and              of the earthen structure and associated
                                                  addresses. The Challenge Agreement                      failures prevented. A solution is being               foundation (to a depth equal to the
                                                  contains more details of the prize                      pursued through a prize competition                   height of the embankment), identifying
                                                  competition rules and terms that Solvers                because the Bureau of Reclamation and                 zones of active internal erosion.
                                                  must agree with to be eligible to                       the collaborating Federal agencies view                 a. Levees and canals are relatively
                                                  compete.                                                it beneficial to seek innovative solutions            lower in height (∼1 to 3 meters), but
                                                                                                          from those beyond the usual sources of                longer in length (1000+ meters).
                                                  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                                                                          potential solvers and experts that                      b. Dams are relatively greater in
                                                  Challenge Manager: Dr. David Raff,
                                                                                                          commonly work in the geotechnical                     height (up to 100+ meters), but shorter
                                                  Science Advisor, Bureau of
                                                                                                          engineering domain. We find ourselves                 in length.
                                                  Reclamation, (202) 513–0516, draff@                     often wondering if someone,                             2. Detect internal erosion before it is
                                                  usbr.gov; Dr. Bobbi Jo Merten, (303)                    somewhere, may know a better way of                   visible at the ground surface. A zone
                                                  445–2380, bmerten@usbr.gov.                             detecting internal erosion in                         (volume) of unstable moving particles
                                                  SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The                          embankments than the methods we                       on the order of 1 cubic meter at any
                                                  Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is                  currently use. The prize competition                  location within or under the
                                                  announcing the following prize                          approach enables us to reach a new                    embankment is considered significant
                                                  competition in compliance with 15 U.S.                  source of potential Solvers to generate               for the internal erosion process.
                                                  Code 3719, Prize Competitions.                          new and timely solutions that would                   Methods that can detect the movement
                                                     Prize Competition Summary:                           not likely be accomplished by standard                of smaller volumes of particles are
                                                  According to the American Society of                    contractual methods.                                  preferred.
                                                  Civil Engineers’ 2013 Report Card for                      This is an Ideation Challenge, which                 3. Allow for a time lapse monitoring
                                                  America’s Infrastructure, there are                     has the following unique features:                    interval on the order of weeks to
                                                  nearly 160,000 kilometers of levees and                    • There is a guaranteed award. The                 months. Preferably the monitoring of the
                                                  85,000 dams that provide flood                          awards will be paid to the best                       embankment would be continuous and
                                                  protection, water storage, and                          submission(s) as solely determined by                 provided with alarm capability based on
                                                  hydropower services for millions of                     the Seeker. The total payout will be                  predefined thresholds.
                                                  people in the United States. Many of                    $20,000, with at least one award being                  4. Quantify a rate of particle
                                                  these dams are owned and operated by                    no smaller than $5,000 and no award                   movement, preferably a rate of growth of
                                                  Reclamation or the U.S. Army Corps of                   being less than $2,500.                               internal erosion features.
                                                  Engineers (USACE). The USACE also                          • All intellectual property rights, if               5. NOT compromise the structural
                                                  owns and manages a significant portion                  any, in the idea or concept                           integrity of the embankment or
                                                  of the nation’s levee inventory. There                  demonstrated by the proposed solution                 foundation materials; it must be
                                                  are also thousands of kilometers of                     will remain with the solver. Upon                     environmentally inert, and must adhere
                                                  water delivery canals in the United                     submission of a proposed solution to                  to a philosophy of ‘‘do no harm’’.
                                                  States, with Reclamation owning about                   this challenge, each solver grants to the               Although direct measures of internal
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                  13,000 kilometers of such. Some of                      seeker a royalty-free, perpetual,                     erosion are preferred, indirect
                                                  these structures are over one-hundred                   irrevocable, non-exclusive license and                measurements of internal erosion, such
                                                  years old, so it is important to ensure                 right to use, disclose, reproduce,                    as approaches that monitor changes to
                                                  that the structures are sound,                          prepare derivative works, distribute                  the phreatic surface or saturation of the
                                                  performing well, and able to continue                   copies to the public, and perform                     embankment will be considered as well.
                                                  providing the critical services of storing              publicly and display publicly, in any                   Project Deliverables: This is an
                                                  water, delivering water, and flood                      manner and for any purpose, and to                    Ideation Challenge that requires only a
                                                  protection.                                             have or permit others to do so.                       written proposal to be submitted. At


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                                                                               Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2016 / Notices                                                  18645

                                                  least one solution will be deemed the                   individual submissions will be                        grant award, or other applicable Federal
                                                  winner. The submission should include:                  provided. Decisions by the Seeker                     funds awarding document. NOTE:
                                                     1. Detailed description of a direct or               cannot be contested.                                  Submissions that propose to improve or
                                                  indirect method for detecting internal                    Submitted solutions will be evaluated               adapt existing federally funded
                                                  erosion that is not widely used today.                  by a Judging Panel composed of                        technologies for the solution sought in
                                                  Only significant improvements to                        scientists, engineers, and other technical            this prize competition are eligible.
                                                  existing methods will be considered for                 experts. The Judging Panel will also
                                                  award.                                                  have consultation access to technical                    Consultation: Geotechnical engineers,
                                                     2. Rationale for why the method can                  experts outside of their expertise, as                facility managers, and technical
                                                  meet the technical requirements above.                  deemed necessary, to evaluate specific                specialists from across Reclamation and
                                                  Note: A general concept is needed, but                  submissions. The Judging Panel will                   USACE were consulted in identifying
                                                  is not considered a solution by itself.                 assess the merits of the solution by the              and selecting the topic of this prize
                                                  The Solver must describe with ‘‘a high                  degree upon which they meet the                       competition. Direct and indirect input
                                                  level of technical detail’’ how the                     technical requirements provided above,                from various stakeholders and partners
                                                  system would meet or not meet each of                   by the potential utility (i.e., adaptability,         associated with the geotechnical
                                                  the attributes described above. The                     scalability, readiness for development),              engineering program efforts by these
                                                  Solver should expect that their                         and by originality (i.e., novel extension             agencies were also considered. In
                                                  submittal will be reviewed by experts in                of current knowledge).                                addition, the Reclamation maintains an
                                                  multiple fields of engineering and                        Eligibility Rules: To be able to win a              open invitation to the public to suggest
                                                  science. Examples and literature                        prize under this competition, an                      prize competition topics at
                                                  references of where similar techniques                  individual or entity must:                            www.usbr.gov/research/challenges.
                                                  are used and how they are used will be                    1. Agree to the rules of the
                                                                                                          competition (15 U.S. Code § 3719(g)(1));                 Public Disclosure: InnoCentive, Inc. is
                                                  helpful to support the validity of the
                                                                                                            2. Be an entity that is incorporated in             administering this challenge under a
                                                  solution.
                                                     3. A list of equipment and materials                 and maintains a primary place of                      challenge support services contract with
                                                  is required. Discussion should include                  business in the United States, or (b) in              Reclamation. Participation is
                                                  expected lifetime of any equipment; size                the case of an individual, a citizen or               conditioned on providing the data
                                                  and invasiveness to the embankment                      permanent resident of the United States               required on InnoCentive’s online
                                                  structure; detection speed, accuracy and                (15 U.S. Code § 3719(g)(3));                          registration form. Personal data will be
                                                  estimated costs.                                          3. Not be a Federal entity or Federal               processed in accordance with
                                                     4. The Solver needs to describe how                  employee acting within the scope of                   InnoCentive’s Privacy Policy which can
                                                  deployable and workable the system                      their employment; (15 U.S. Code                       be located at http://
                                                  would be under a wide variety of                        § 3719(g)(4));                                        www.innocentive.com/privacy.php.
                                                  environmental conditions such as those                    4. Assume risks and waive claims                    Before including your address, phone
                                                  found in typical dam, levee and canal                   against the Federal Government and its                number, email address, or other
                                                  embankments.                                            related entities (15 U.S. Code                        personal identifying information in your
                                                     The discussion accompanying the                      § 3719(i)(1)(B)); and,                                proposal, you should be aware that the
                                                  Solver’s proposal should:                                 5. Not use Federal facilities, or                   Seeker is under no obligation to
                                                     5. Clearly identify detection limits of              consult with Federal employees during
                                                                                                                                                                withhold such information from public
                                                  methods, such as: What is the minimum                   the competition unless the facilities and
                                                                                                                                                                disclosure, and it may be made publicly
                                                  size of soil particle the method can                    employees are made available to all
                                                                                                          individuals and entities participating in             available at any time. Neither
                                                  detect? Does the baseline condition of
                                                  the embankment, groundwater, or                         the competition on an equitable basis.                InnoCentive nor the Seeker is
                                                  ambient environment impact the                            The following individuals or entities               responsible for human error, theft,
                                                  performance of the method?                              are not eligible regardless of whether                destruction, or damage to proposed
                                                     6. Identify how and where the method                 they meet the criteria set forth above:               solutions, or other factors beyond its
                                                  will be installed. Is the method weather                  1. Any individual who employs an                    reasonable control. Solver assumes any
                                                  proof and tamper proof? Are there any                   evaluator on the Judging Panel or                     and all risks and waives any and all
                                                  limitations to the method installation or               otherwise has a material business                     claims against the Seeker and its related
                                                  conditions required for performance?                    relationship or affiliation with any                  entities, except in the case of willful
                                                     7. Identify the temporal resolution or               Judge.                                                misconduct, for any injury, death,
                                                  temporal limitations of the solution.                     2. Any individual who is a member of                damage, or loss of property, revenue, or
                                                  How long does the method take to                        any Judge’s immediate family or                       profits, whether direct, indirect, or
                                                  deploy? What are measurement and                        household.                                            consequential, arising from
                                                  processing time limitations?                              3. The Seeker, participating                        participation in this competition,
                                                     Submitted proposals should not                       organizations, and any advertising                    whether the injury, death, damage, or
                                                  include any personally identifiable                     agency, contractor or other individual or             loss arises through negligence or
                                                  information that the Solver does not                    organization involved with the design,
                                                                                                                                                                otherwise.
                                                  want to make public, or any information                 production, promotion, execution, or
                                                  that the Solver may consider as their                   distribution of the prize competition; all              Dated: March 28, 2016.
                                                  own Intellectual Property which they do                 employees, representatives and agents                 David Raff,
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                  not want to share.                                      thereof; and all members of the                       Science Advisor .
                                                     Judging: After the Challenge deadline,               immediate family or household of any                  [FR Doc. 2016–07275 Filed 3–30–16; 8:45 am]
                                                  the Seeker will evaluate the submissions                such individual, employee,
                                                                                                                                                                BILLING CODE 4332–90–P
                                                  and make a decision with regards to the                 representative, or agent.
                                                  Winning Solution(s). All Solvers that                     4. Any individual or entity that uses
                                                  submitted a proposal will be notified on                Federal funds to develop the proposed
                                                  the status of their submissions;                        solution now or any time in the past,
                                                  however, no detailed evaluation of                      unless such use is consistent with the


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Document Created: 2016-03-31 00:55:16
Document Modified: 2016-03-31 00:55:16
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice.
DatesListed below are the specific dates pertaining to this prize competition:
ContactChallenge Manager: Dr. David Raff, Science Advisor, Bureau of Reclamation, (202) 513-0516, [email protected]; Dr. Bobbi Jo Merten, (303) 445-2380, [email protected]
FR Citation81 FR 18643 

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