On January 23, 2012, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris filed a Notice of Intent to File a CEQA Petition for Writ of Mandate in Intervention to intervene in the CEQA lawsuit filed by the Cleveland National Forest Foundation and the Center for Biological Diversity on November 28, 2011, challenging the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS) adopted by San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).  (See http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/press/pdfs/n2614_2012-01-23_notice_of_intent_to_file_ceqa_petition.pdf (AG notice), and http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/press/pdfs/n2614_2012-01-23_ex_parte_application_to_intervene.pdf (related AG ex parte application).)  Also on January 23, 2012, petitioners filed a First Amended Petition for Writ of Mandate and Complaint for Injunctive Relief to add Sierra Club as a petitioner in the litigation. (See http://transitsandiego.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/cnff-verified-amended-petition.pdf.)  The focus of the Attorney General’s intervention concerns the adequacy of the EIR’s air quality analysis and related public health impacts.  The Attorney General has taken this position notwithstanding that the plan achieves the greenhouse gas targets established by AB 32 and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) concurred that the plan meets all CARB greenhouse gas targets.  For more information on the Attorney General’s decision to intervene visit:  http://oag.ca.gov/news/press_release?id=2614.

Written By: Tina Thomas and Chris Butcher

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