Emergency Measures To Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas
This executive order, signed January 24, 2025, directs federal agencies to take aggressive, cross-agency steps aimed at increasing water resources for Southern California to combat wildfires and to improve disaster response in California and other areas mentioned. It authorizes actions that would override certain California policies or regulations, accelerate water deliveries through federal operations of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project, and pursue environmental reviews and exemptions that could streamline project delivery. The order also directs a broader federal review of land- and water-management policies, and adds concrete disaster-response measures for Los Angeles and North Carolina, including housing assistance, debris removal, and faster use of certain federal grants. It emphasizes that these actions are to be taken within existing law and appropriations and does not create new enforceable rights. In short, the order seeks to mobilize federal authority to deliver more water and faster disaster relief, even if that requires curtailing some California policies or environmental reviews, while also addressing immediate housing and cleanup needs in affected areas.
Key Points
- 1Policy to supply Southern California with necessary water resources to prevent and fight wildfires, including prioritizing water delivery even if it conflicts with certain State or local policies.
- 2Expedited use and potential overriding of regulatory processes to maximize water deliveries (including actions by Interior and Commerce, with possible reliance on a “No Action Alternative” in an environmental review) and a directive to operate CVP to increase storage, conveyance, and hydropower for high-need communities.
- 3Provisions to streamline NEPA/ESA compliance for major water-supply and storage projects, designate coordinating officials for each project, and identify regulatory hurdles to suspend, revise, or rescind burdensome rules not essential to public safety or legal compliance.
- 4Federal reviews of California land/water programs (OMB-led) and reporting to the President on California policies or practices inconsistent with disaster prevention and response; guidance to improve compliance and possibly add terms to future federal programs.
- 5Targeted disaster-response actions for Los Angeles and North Carolina, including housing relief planning, rapid debris removal, faster use of federal preparedness grants (with a prohibition on using such grants for undocumented individuals in one directive), road-clearing and rebuilding assistance, and housing strategies for displaced families.