81 FR 59244 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for a Prize Competition Seeking: Preventing Rodent Burrows in Earthen Embankments

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 167 (August 29, 2016)

The Bureau of Reclamation, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, State of Colorado Department of Natural Resources Dam Safety Branch, and various water irrigation districts that operate Federal canals, is seeking new ideas for cost-effective ways to prevent rodents from burrowing into the earthen embankments of dams, canals, and levees. These burrows cause seepage paths in the embankment system which can lead to structural failures that endanger water supplies, and cause property damage and loss of life. Many of the more traditional and ``intuitive'' methods have been tried with little success to date. We are hoping the Solver community can dig deeper than the rodents to find creative and effective solutions to this Challenge.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 167 (Monday, August 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59244-59246]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20497]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR08100000, 16XR0680A1, RY.1541CH20.60IR162]


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for a Prize 
Competition Seeking: Preventing Rodent Burrows in Earthen Embankments

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation, in collaboration with the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, State of Colorado Department of Natural Resources 
Dam Safety Branch, and various water irrigation districts that operate 
Federal canals, is seeking new ideas for cost-effective ways to prevent 
rodents from burrowing into the earthen embankments of dams, canals, 
and levees. These burrows cause seepage paths in the embankment system 
which can lead to structural failures that endanger water supplies, and 
cause property damage and loss of life. Many of the more traditional 
and ``intuitive'' methods have been tried with little success to date. 
We are hoping the Solver community can dig deeper than the rodents to 
find creative and effective solutions to this Challenge.

DATES: Listed below are the specific dates pertaining to this prize 
competition:
    1. Submission period begins on August 29, 2016.
    2. Submission period ends on October 11, 2016.
    3. Judging period ends on December 7, 2016.
    4. Winners announced by December 27, 2016.

ADDRESSES: The Preventing Rodent Burrows in Earthen Embankments 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. Jessica Torrey, (303) 445-2376, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is 
announcing the following prize competition in compliance with 15 U.S.C. 
3719, Prize Competitions.
    Prize Competition Summary: Is there a way to stop and prevent 
rodents from

[[Page 59245]]

burrowing into earthen embankments of dams, canals, and levees?
    Rodent burrows can fill with water when the water levels change, 
creating seepage paths which can lead to internal erosion in 
embankments resulting in the potential for catastrophic failure. 
Embankment failures can cause property damage, cause loss of life, and 
interrupt crucial deliveries of water in the West and across the 
nation.
    Trapping or baiting rodents on earthen embankments are short term 
remedies, and experience has shown that within a short time, the 
rodents inevitably return. Annual programs of rodent removal over 
thousands of miles of earthen embankment are cost prohibitive and only 
marginally successful. Solvers are being asked for creative, cost 
effective, long-term solutions to this very real and serious problem.
    A solution is being pursued through a prize competition because 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 Bureau of Reclamation, on behalf of the U.S. 
Government, 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 
perpetual, 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 the 
following Technical Requirements. Solvers need not meet every technical 
requirement with one new concept. Concepts that meet some requirements, 
but not all, will still be eligible for competing for an award. 
Innovative solutions in one of the necessary components may be 
considered for partial awards. The Solution should:
    1. Reduce by 95% the ability of rodents to burrow in the 
embankments.
    2. Be able to be applied at discrete, remote locations where power 
is not available.
    3. Work reliably for a minimum of 5 years without interruption or 
major repairs.
    4. Require maintenance labor activities no more than every 6 
months.
    5. Be cost effective to treat or cover earthen embankments that are 
1 mile long, but be scalable to treat embankments that are 50 miles 
long.
    It would be nice to have (not as important as the requirements 
above, but would add value to a submission) a Solution that:
    6. Is effective in temperature extremes from 0 to 120 degrees 
Fahrenheit.
    7. Does not kill rodents.
    8. Is applicable in both urban areas as well as rural areas.
    The Solution should not:
    1. Be a review of every type of rodent control tried in the past.
    2. Negatively impact the structural integrity of the embankment or 
any of its appurtenant features.
    3. Promote the establishment of a new predator that will harm other 
non-target species.
    4. Contaminate water in or behind the embankment.
    5. Displace the rodents from one area of the embankment to another 
area.
    6. Create a favorable rodent habitat or supply food and shelter to 
the rodents.
    7. Exterminate or harm non-target species such as humans, pets, or 
endangered species.
    Solutions that meet the technical requirements will also be judged 
on logistical feasibility, applicability to varying environments, 
readiness, overall costs, and scalability.
    Project Deliverables: This is an Ideation Challenge that requires 
only a written proposal to be submitted. At least one solution will be 
deemed the winner. The submitted proposal should include the following:
    1. Detailed description of a method and/or device. The Solver must 
describe with a high level of technical detail as to how the system 
would meet or not meet each of the ``should have'' and ``nice to have'' 
attributes in the Technical Requirements described above. The Solver 
should expect that their submittal will be reviewed by experts in the 
field of biology and those with relevant operations, maintenance, and 
engineering expertise.
    2. Rationale as to why the Solver believes that the proposed method 
and/or device will work. This rationale should address each of the 
Technical Requirements and should be supported with relevant examples.
    3. Drawings/sketches of any proposed system, if appropriate.
    4. Sufficient data to support claims, if available.
    5. List of equipment required and rough cost estimate.
    6. Detail on how the solution could be developed and tested in the 
field.
    7. Your area of expertise/qualifications that allow you to develop 
the idea.
    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. Decisions by the Seeker cannot be 
contested.
    Submitted solutions will be evaluated by a Judging Panel composed 
of scientists, engineers, and other related technical experts. The 
Judging Panel will also have consultation access to technical experts 
outside of their expertise, as determined necessary, to evaluate 
specific submissions.
    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.C. 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.C. 3719(g)(3));
    3. Not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the 
scope of their employment; (15 U.S.C. 3719(g)(4));

[[Page 59246]]

    4. Assume risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and 
its related entities (15 U.S.C. 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, biologists, facility 
managers, and technical specialists from across Reclamation and U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers were consulted in identifying and selecting the 
topic of this prize competition. Direct and indirect input from various 
stakeholders and partners associated with the asset management program 
efforts by these agencies were also considered.
    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: August 22, 2016.
David Raff,
 Science Advisor.
[FR Doc. 2016-20497 Filed 8-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4332-90-P