The Challenge
As you may recall, in a 2020 Settlement Agreement EPA agreed to "facilitate opportunities for research and testing of innovative treatment and other technologies and approaches for reducing PCB toxicity and/or concentrations in excavated soil and/or sediment before, during, or after disposal in a landfill." The Challenge launched today meets that objective. An inexpensive and efficient method for reducing PCB concentrations and/or toxicity in soil and sediment could greatly benefit cleanups of PCB contaminated sites.
The Challenge will be posted for approximately 60 days and involve a 30-day evaluation period. The entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges comprised of both federal representatives and a private community member(s). The best solutions in this Prize Challenge have the opportunity to win an award of $30,000 for meeting all solution requirements. Instructions on how to register can be found on Wazoku's The Challenge page.
The initial phase, Phase 1, of this Challenge is the ideation phase. If Phase 1 of the Challenge successfully identifies a vendor (or vendors) who have proposed promising and practical solutions, then those vendors would be selected as winners of Phase 1 of the Challenge. EPA may then proceed to Phase 2, the proof-of-concept phase. The proof-of-concept Phase would likely include pilot or bench scale testing of the technology.
Although funded by EPA Region 1, the EPA Case Team for the GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River will not participate in the Challenge process or the judging of submitted entries. All questions regarding the Challenge must be submitted on the Wazoku Solver's Message Center by October 9, 2024. Unless an extension is granted, proposals are due November 12. If the EPA Case Team receives questions on the Challenge, the questioner will be directed to submit their questions to Wazoku.
EPA supports the use and implementation of applicable technologies to reduce PCB concentrations and toxicity. If both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Challenge successfully identify a cost-effective solution that will make a real difference in the cleanup, EPA Region 1 commits to considering the applicability of the solution to the cleanup potentially through the Final Permit's adaptive management provisions or other Permit/Consent Decree provisions.