Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant

Aboveground Storage Tank (AST)


AECOM Technical Services, Inc. (AECOM)


Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management (ACSIM)


Base Realignment and Closure Division (BRAC)


Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment (BERA) – Risk assessment that evaluates the potential adverse effects that human activities have on the living organisms that make up ecosystems. The risk assessment process provides a way to develop, organize and present scientific information so that it is relevant to environmental decisions.


Baseline Human Health Risk Assessment (BHHRA) – Risk assessment that evaluates the potential adverse effects that human activities have on the health of the human population in nearby communities. The risk assessment process provides a way to develop, organize and present scientific information so that it is relevant to environmental decisions.


Bioaugmentation – A supplementary process to in-situ bioremediation where microbial populations known to remediate target compounds are injected into the contaminated aquifer to speed up the rate of degradation of a contaminant.


Biobarrier – An underground biological barrier made of emulsified vegetable oil, wood chips, or a proprietary mix that is injected into the ground, used to prevent the down gradient groundwater migration of contaminants of concern.


Desiccation Cracks – Cracks in the surface of a landfill caused by dryness that degrade a landfills cap’s ability to sufficiently contain its contaminants of concern.


Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) – Commonly known as Superfund, CERCLA was enacted by Congress on December 11, 1980. This law created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and provided broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment.

Defense Environmental Restoration Account (DERA) – This account was formed to fund the Defense Environmental Restoration Program.


Enhanced In-situ Bioremediation (EISB) – A technology designed to remediate contaminants of concern in groundwater involving input of an organic source, nutrients, electron acceptors, and/or microbial cultures to stimulate degradation of the contaminant. EISB may be used to remediate high concentration areas within plumes or source areas to help provide containment of plumes, or as part of treatment down gradient from a primary cleanup or containment system.


Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD)


Feasibility Study (FS) – A process that summarizes the results of a remedial investigation and presents the development and detailed evaluation of a set of remedial action alternatives to address potential risks to human health and the environment due to an impacted medium.


Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) – Contracts, usually between a number of government agencies, which are designed to coordinate cleanups of environmentally impacted sites.


Flashing Area – An area where metal debris is heat flashed so it is decontaminated from explosives or other contaminants in order to recover the metal.


Groundwater Treatment Plant (GWTP) – A groundwater treatment plant located on the LHAAP property southeast of Site LHAAP-18/24 that treats extracted water through air stripping, precipitation, and biological methods.


Gullying – An erosion trenching effect in the surface of a landfill caused by storm water runoff that degrades the landfill cap’s ability to sufficiently contain its contaminants of concern.


In-situ Bioremediation (ISB) – A technology to remediate contaminants in place by injecting a substrate such as molasses, corn syrup, or emulsified vegetable oil into contaminated groundwater to act as a food source for microbial populations whose activity breaks down or neutralizes contaminants.


Interim Remedial Action (IRA) – An interim measure to address contamination prior to the signature of the final Record of Decision for a site to remove or isolate contamination. This action can be taken any time during the CERCLA process to protect human health and the environment from high levels of contamination until the final remedial action is in place.


Installation Restoration Program (IRP) – Developed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to identify, evaluate, and clean up contamination from past operations on military bases worldwide. The IRP is designed to ensure DoD compliance with federal and state environmental regulations, while still allowing the military to carry out missions important to national defense.


Land Use Control (LUC) – LUCs are used to provide protection from exposure to contaminants that exist or remain on a site. LUCs are classified as institutional (administrative and/or legal) controls or engineering (physical) controls.


limited source assessment – An assessment of an environmental source area using available data which may not result in the identification of full nature and extent of the source material.


Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant (LHAAP) – An inactive, government-owned, formerly contractor-operated and maintained Department of Defense facility located in Karnack, Texas that produced and decommissioned defense items from 1941 to 1997, and is currently undergoing soil, groundwater and surface water cleanup activities.


Long-Term Monitoring


Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) – A standard specifying the maximum concentration of a contaminant allowed to remain in groundwater, surface water or soil.


Medium-Specific Concentration (MSC) – Numeric cleanup levels for individual contaminants developed primarily based upon State of Texas or federal promulgated health-based standards for a single contaminant in a specific medium considering one or more exposure pathways.


Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) – The DOD developed the MMRP in 2001 to address munitions-related concerns on DOD property, including explosive safety, environmental and health hazards from releases of munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) found at locations other than operational ranges, on active and BRAC installations, and Formerly Used Defense Sites.


Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) – A groundwater remedy where contaminant presence or absence or levels of contamination are monitored over time to identify if natural processes are degrading contaminants.


Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) – Unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, bulk explosives, or their constituents that pose a risk of contamination or detonation.


Proposed Plan (PP) – The Proposed Plan briefly summarizes the alternatives studied in the detailed analysis phase of the feasibility study, highlighting the key factors that led to identifying the Preferred Alternative. The Preferred Alternative for a site is presented to the public in a Proposed Plan.


Record of Decision (ROD) – A document memorializing either no further action or the selected cleanup alternative(s) to be implemented at a site. The ROD is based on information and technical analysis generated during the RI/FS and for a DOD site is typically signed by the Service Branch and the lead regulatory agency.


Remedial Action (RA) – Action taken to prevent or minimize the release of hazardous substances so that they do not migrate to cause substantial danger to present or future public health or welfare or the environment.


Remedial Action Operation (RA-O)


Remedial Action Construction (RAC) – CERCLA cleanup phase during which remediation systems are built or installed and are demonstrated as functioning as designed.


Remedial Action Completion Report (RACR) – A document memorializing Remedial Action Construction details of the implementation of the selected remedy.


Remedial Action Work Plan (RAWP) – The planning document identifying processes, procedures, and technologies to be implemented as part of construction of the final remedy for a site.


Remedial Design (RD) – CERCLA phase in the cleanup process where engineering plans, technical drawings and specifications are developed for the selected cleanup alternative.


Remedial Investigation (RI) – CERCLA phase where investigation is completed in order to confirm the nature and extent of contamination for an environmental site.


Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) – A forum that consists of members who reside in or who work in the County where the DOD facility is located, and individuals and groups directly impacted and have a vested interest in environmental restoration activities at the facility, along with representatives from the Service Branch and State and Federal regulatory agencies.


Semi-volatile Organic Compound (SVOC) – An organic compound which has a boiling point higher than water and which may vaporize when exposed to temperatures above room temperature.


Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)


Trinitrotoluene (TNT) – a chemical compound best known as a useful explosive material with convenient handling properties. The explosive yield of TNT is considered to be the standard measure of strength of militarized ordnance and other explosives.


U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)


U.S. Army Environmental Command (USAEC)


U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)


U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS)


Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) – An organic (carbon-containing) compound that evaporates (volatilizes) readily at room temperature.