Emergency Measures To Provide Water Resources in California 
and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas

               By the authority vested in me as President by the 
               Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
               America, it is hereby ordered:

               Section 1. Policy. For weeks, residents of the Los 
               Angeles area have watched raging fires consume their 
               homes, belongings, beloved pets, and childhood 
               memories. Almost immediately, firefighters were unable 
               to fight the blaze due to dry hydrants, empty 
               reservoirs, and inadequate water infrastructure. Today, 
               at least 28 people have lost their lives and thousands 
               more have lost everything else, with some damage 
               estimates calculating hundreds of billions of dollars 
               in damage.

               This tragedy affects the entire Nation, so it is in the 
               Nation's interest to ensure that California has what it 
               needs to prevent and fight these fires and others in 
               the future. Therefore, it is the policy of the United 
               States to provide Southern California with necessary 
               water resources, notwithstanding actively harmful State 
               or local policies. And it is the policy of the United 
               States to assist Americans in disaster areas through 
               responsive policies that more effectively empower them 
               to rebuild and regain their livelihoods.

               Sec. 2. Overriding Disastrous California Policies. (a) 
               The Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the 
               Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 
               Commerce, the Secretary of the Interior, and the 
               Secretary of Agriculture shall expeditiously take all 
               measures, consistent with all applicable authorities, 
               to ensure adequate water resources in Southern 
               California. Each shall report to me within 15 days on 
               all authorities, including emergency authorities, 
               available to ensure, require, maintain, or use 
               infrastructure necessary to fight and prevent massive 
               wildfires in Southern California.

                   (b) In particular, the Secretary of the Interior 
               and the Secretary of Commerce shall immediately take 
               actions to override existing activities that unduly 
               burden efforts to maximize water deliveries. The 
               Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce 
               shall consider actions including those consistent with 
               the ``No Action Alternative'' in the Final 
               Environmental Impact Statement issued November 15, 
               2024, by the Bureau of Reclamation on Long-term 
               Operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water 
               Project.
                   (c) The Secretary of the Interior, including 
               through the Bureau of Reclamation, shall utilize his 
               discretion to operate the CVP to deliver more water and 
               produce additional hydropower, including by increasing 
               storage and conveyance, and jointly operating federal 
               and state facilities, to high-need communities, 
               notwithstanding any contrary State or local laws. The 
               Bureau of Reclamation shall take all available measures 
               to ensure that State agencies--including the California 
               Department of Water Resources--do not interfere with 
               the Bureau of Reclamation's operation of the project to 
               maximize water delivery to high-need communities or 
               otherwise, including but not limited to the issuance of 
               a new Record of Decision maximizing water deliveries 
               and consistent with the 2020 Record of Decision.
                   (d) In accordance with section 6 of the Executive 
               Order of January 20, 2025 (Declaring a National Energy 
               Emergency), the Secretary of the Interior, through the 
               Bureau of Reclamation, and in accordance with section 
               1536 of title 16 United States Code, shall expedite 
               action related to any exemption under the Endangered 
               Species Act of 1973 (ESA), 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.,
               for the Long-Term Operation of the CVP and the State 
               Water Project for all applicable threatened and 
               endangered species.
                   (e) The Secretary of the Interior shall promptly 
               review, revise, or rescind any regulations or 
               procedures specific to implementation of section 1536 
               of title 16 United States Code, as needed and 
               consistent with applicable law, to conform with the 
               plain meaning of the statute.
                   (f) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
               of Commerce shall identify all ongoing or potential 
               major water-supply and storage projects within the 
               State of California for which they have joint 
               responsibility under the ESA or individual 
               responsibilities under the National Environmental 
               Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
                   (g) For each such project identified under 
               subsection (f), the Secretary of the Interior and the 
               Secretary of Commerce shall each designate one federal 
               official to coordinate each agency's respective NEPA 
               and ESA compliance responsibilities. Within 30 days 
               from the date of this order, each designated official 
               shall identify any regulatory hurdles that unduly 
               burden each respective water project, identify any 
               recent changes in state or Federal law that may impact 
               such projects from a regulatory perspective (including 
               Public Law 118-5), and shall develop a proposed plan, 
               for review by the Secretaries, to appropriately 
               suspend, revise, or rescind any regulations or 
               procedures that unduly burden such projects and are not 
               necessary to protect the public interest or otherwise 
               comply with the law. In so doing, each designated 
               federal official will coordinate and share all 
               appropriate information that will enable improved 
               efficiencies. For the purposes of this order, ``unduly 
               burden'' means to unnecessarily obstruct, delay, 
               curtail, impede or otherwise impose significant costs 
               on the permitting, utilization, transmission, delivery, 
               or supply of water resources and water infrastructure.

               Sec. 3. Ending the Subsidization of California's 
               Mismanagement. (a) The Director of the Office of 
               Management and Budget (OMB) shall review all Federal 
               programs, projects, and activities for all relevant 
               agencies that impact land management, water 
               availability, water supply, water storage and delivery, 
               water infrastructure, and disaster preparedness and 
               response.

                   (b) Within 30 days of the date of this order, to 
               ensure that State and local jurisdictions promote 
               sensible land management practices and reliable water 
               supply for all Americans, the Secretary of the 
               Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the 
               Secretary of Commerce shall jointly report to the 
               President, through the Assistant to the President for 
               Domestic Policy and Assistant to the President for 
               Economic Policy, regarding California State and local 
               policies or practices inconsistent with sound disaster 
               prevention and response.
                   (c) The Director of OMB, in consultation with the 
               Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and 
               Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, shall 
               recommend appropriate action to the President, 
               regarding:

(i) any lack of compliance by California with the terms of existing Federal 
grants, contracts, or other financial assistance to States or localities; 
and

(ii) beneficial additional terms that may be added with respect to any 
future Federal programs, projects, or activities to ensure sound disaster 
prevention and response.

               Sec. 4. Additional Actions to Help Los Angeles 
               Families. (a) Housing Displaced Families. The Secretary 
               of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of 
               Homeland Security, through the Administrator of FEMA, 
               shall expeditiously provide an Integrated Federal 
               Housing Strategy and Implementation Plan to the 
               Director of OMB and the Assistant to the President for 
               National Security Affairs that expedites options for 
               housing relief to survivors displaced by wildfires in 
               California.

                   (b) Expediting Waste Removal. Within 5 days from 
               the date of this order, to accelerate the rebuilding of 
               areas devastated by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, 
               the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland 
               Security,
               through the Administrator of FEMA, and the 
               Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
               shall develop and execute a plan to expedite the bulk 
               removal of contaminated and general debris.
                   (c) Effectively Using Grants to Improve Fire 
               Preparedness. The Secretary of Homeland Security, 
               through the Administrator of FEMA, shall immediately 
               implement a plan to enable the timely and appropriate 
               use of Federal preparedness grants for the City of Los 
               Angeles. As of the date of this order, the city has yet 
               to use the majority of its $213 million allotment that 
               has accrued since fiscal year 2021. These Federal 
               preparedness grants shall not be used to support 
               illegal aliens. The Attorney General, in coordination 
               with the FEMA Administrator, shall investigate the 
               misuse of these grants by the City of Los Angeles and 
               take appropriate action to address such misuse.

               Sec. 5. Additional Actions to Help North Carolina 
               Families. (a) Clearing Roads. To accelerate rebuilding 
               and community recovery, the Secretary of 
               Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
               acting through the Administrator of FEMA, and the 
               Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
               shall immediately take all necessary and appropriate 
               measures, including through direct assistance, loans, 
               and other available means, to expedite roadway 
               clearance or rebuilding, including the section of 
               Interstate 40 in North Carolina that remains closed, 
               and the repair or rebuilding of roads and bridges on 
               private property in areas of North Carolina affected by 
               Hurricane Helene.

                   (b) Housing Displaced Families. The Secretary of 
               Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of 
               Homeland Security, through the Administrator of the 
               Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall immediately 
               provide an Integrated Federal Housing Strategy and 
               Implementation Plan to the Director of the Office of 
               Management and Budget and the Assistant to the 
               President for National Security Affairs that expedites 
               options for housing relief to survivors displaced by 
               Hurricane Helene.

               Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
               shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                   (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
               applicable law and subject to the availability of 
               appropriations.
                   (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
               create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
               enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
               the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
               entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
               other person.
               
                DONALD J. TRUMP

               THE WHITE HOUSE,

                   January 24, 2025.