Originally published in Law360, New York (March 02, 2012, 1:20 PM ET)

On Jan. 25, 2012, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the “sustainable communities strategy,” or SCS, the first such strategy adopted in the state for the San Diego region.

By seeking to intervene in Cleveland National Forest Foundation, et al. v. San Diego Association of Governments, et al., the attorney general sends a message that her office is closely scrutinizing the SCS process mandated by Senate Bill 375 (SB 375) and will seek to ensure that every region across the state makes a strong commitment to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

In addition, the attorney general’s motion to intervene takes an aggressive — if not unprecedented — position that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires environmental review documents to analyze environmental justice impacts.