COL(R) Howlett Speaks with Cadets about NEPA

COL(R) David Howlett, a New York native and member of the New York bar, gave a guest lecture to law and environmental science majors enrolled in Environmental Law on the challenges that the Army has faced in meeting its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA Case studies discussed included the challenges at Makua and Pohakoloa Training Areas in Hawaii, as well as in the Army's Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Army Transformation, a process that continues. Colonel Howlett has been an Army environmental law practitioner since 1995, to include serving as Chief of the Litigation Section at the Army's Environmental Law Division, part of the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency. Colonel Howlett's presentation and the ensuing discussion brought to life for cadets the abstract challenges of the NEPA statute, its attendant regulations, as well as litigation risks for commands taking significant actions that require NEPA documentation and analysis.