El Niño is coming … and if you haven’t done so already, NOW is the time to evaluate infrastructure and to take action to minimize potential risks. This year, the predicted power of El Niño means deferred maintenance and improvements carry more risk than usual. However, planning, funding, and securing permit approvals for repairs and upgrades can take months or years. Recognizing El Niño risks and these long permitting timelines, Governor Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency on September 21, 2026, directing state agencies to prioritize and accelerate permitting for local flood, landslide, and debris flow work.

This alert is the first in a series that explores how businesses and agencies can prepare for, manage, and respond to anticipated extreme weather. We start with the regulatory hurdles that public agencies and private parties typically face when preparing infrastructure for the wet season.

Identify Maintenance and Upgrade Needs. More intense storms result in more snowmelt, runoff, and in-stream flow. With more water comes greater risk of damage from flood and storm water. Preventive work can reduce that risk. Consider these conditions, which may increase flooding risk:

• Deferred levee and floodwall repairs
• Vegetation that impedes flow (or increases “roughness”) in a river channel
• Undersized or obstructed culverts
• Clogged inlets and outfalls
• Sediment in channels and detention basins
• Eroding banks or slopes
• Scour at bridge and pipeline crossings

Evaluate Permitting Requirements. Projects addressing these conditions usually require multiple permits and approvals. Work within a streambed, for instance, may require negotiating a Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Activities involving protected species and critical habitat may require an incidental take permit. Work that discharges sediment into waterways may require a fill permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers and a water quality certification from a Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Projects in the coastal zone may need a coastal development permit, while those in or near the San Francisco Bay may require authorization from the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission. And, significantly, projects often require compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).

Track State Agency Actions. Governor Newsom’s proclamation directs key state agencies to speed up permitting and coordinate preparations with the governments and private parties that own and operate flood infrastructure. Among other things, it requires that state agencies:

• Prioritizing permitting. California EPA and the Natural Resources Agency will prioritize permitting, consultation, and technical assistance for local flood, landslide, and debris flow work, and will issue necessary permits as quickly as possible by invoking existing emergency authorities or other pathways for streamlined review.
• Expediting coastal permitting. The Coastal Commission will expedite review, notify applicants of incomplete items within five days, schedule complete applications for the next Commission meeting, accept written and oral emergency permit requests, and act on urgent emergency requests within 24 hours.
• Coordinating emergency services. The California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) will coordinate statewide preparedness and response, work with local and tribal governments on planning and assistance requests, and expand public preparedness communications.
• Work with dam, levee, and utility operators. The Division of Safety of Dams will contact jurisdictional dam owners about maintenance obligations; Cal OES and the Department of Water Resources will communicate with local agencies responsible for levees and flood control facilities; and state energy and water agencies will coordinate with utilities on readiness and service restoration.

The proclamation also suspends travel, advertising, and competitive bidding requirements under the Government Code and the Public Contract Code to the extent necessary for state agencies to procure materials and services for this emergency. The proclamation does not suspend CEQA, the Coastal Act, the Fish and Game Code, or California’s water quality laws, but additional relief may be coming. The proclamation directs the Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to recommend by October 16, 2026 whether further action or emergency suspensions are necessary to expedite local flood preparation projects.

Planning and Preparing. The proclamation directs state agencies to work with local agencies to issue necessary permits as quickly as possible. It also directs state agencies to identify and invoke existing emergency authorities or other pathways for streamlined permitting review. And it encourages coastal communities to submit applications to the Coastal Commission. The applicable authorities and pathways to permitting depends on the project, the location, and the approvals it requires. An applicant who defines and documents the scope of a project now will be better prepared to take advantage of expedited options if a permitting agency identifies an emergency authority or streamlined review.

Outreach and Engagement. In response to the Governor’s proclamation, state officials have indicated that they will be actively engaging with stakeholders and considering input immediately. Time is of the essence for affected parties to work with their state regulators to suggest effective policies and procedures to effectively prepare for and respond to El Niño related events.

If you have any questions about permitting and other issues concerning floodwater and stormwater infrastructure, please contact Hanson Bridgett’s Environmental and Water lawyers.

Alerts to follow in this series address emergency authorities once a storm arrives, liability for storm and flood water damage, and how anticipated extreme flooding could affect compliance with other related permitting requirements for public and private facilities.