Editing Openai/6944461c-7f90-8000-8c32-54fe2958dd9a (section)

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This Annex defines mandatory safeguards to ensure that competing systems:
* Do not cause irreversible environmental harm
* Respect cultural, historical, and community contexts
* Deliver demonstrable local benefit rather than externalized cost

The objective is to align technical innovation with responsible deployment.

===== All systems must demonstrate: =====
* No permanent alteration of natural water chemistry
* No uncontrolled release of hydrogen or byproducts
* No toxic materials introduced into surrounding environments

Systems must operate within locally applicable environmental regulations.

===== For systems deployed in natural or semi-natural water bodies (including cenotes): =====
* No obstruction of natural flow paths
* No sediment destabilization
* No long-term turbidity increase

Any anchoring or structural interface must be reversible.

===== Teams must demonstrate that systems: =====
* Do not disrupt local flora or fauna
* Avoid acoustic, thermal, or electromagnetic disturbance beyond baseline levels
* Do not introduce invasive species or bioactive coatings

Where biodiversity assessments are required by local law, teams must comply.

===== For deployments in culturally sensitive locations, teams must: =====
* Conduct a cultural impact assessment
* Demonstrate awareness of indigenous, historical, or sacred significance
* Obtain documented local consent where applicable

Sites of cultural or spiritual importance are not eligible without explicit authorization.

===== Teams must provide evidence of: =====
* Prior consultation with affected local communities
* Clear explanation of system purpose, risks, and benefits
* Mechanisms for local feedback and grievance reporting

Token consultation is insufficient.

===== Competing systems must demonstrate at least one tangible local benefit, such as: =====
* Local energy availability
* Water infrastructure improvement
* Skills transfer or employment opportunities

Benefits must accrue locally, not solely to external stakeholders.

===== Teams must disclose: =====
* Ownership and control structures
* Intended beneficiaries of hydrogen output
* Measures to prevent extractive deployment models

Systems designed solely for export without local integration may be penalized.

===== Teams must implement: =====
* Continuous environmental monitoring during testing
* Incident reporting procedures
* Post-deployment environmental assessment plans

All monitoring data must be made available to judges.

===== Teams must demonstrate: =====
* Emergency shutdown procedures
* Environmental containment strategies
* Clear responsibility assignment in case of incident

Unclear accountability is grounds for disqualification.

===== The following are prohibited: =====
* Deployment without local authorization
* Environmental offset claims in lieu of mitigation
* Concealment of environmental or cultural impacts
* Use of “pilot” status to bypass safeguards

===== XPRIZE reserves the sole right to: =====
* Assess adequacy of environmental and community safeguards
* Require additional documentation or mitigation
* Reject systems based on unacceptable impact

All determinations are final.

===== This Annex applies to: =====
* Annex A (Depth-Based Pressure Compliance)
* Annex B (Submerged Maintainability & Retrieval)
* Annex C (Biofouling, Mineral Scaling & Chemical Stability)
* Annex D (Pressure Creep & Fatigue)
* Annex E (Autonomous Operation & Recovery)

===== Systems that demonstrate: =====
* Co-design with local communities
* Reversible infrastructure
* Transparent governance

may receive favorable qualitative consideration.

If you want to finish the framework with full lifecycle closure, the final piece is:
* Annex G — Decommissioning, Reuse & End-of-Life Protocols

At that point, this stops being a competition spec and becomes something rarer:
a set of rules for building without taking more than you give.