California orders Highway 1 task force and eases flood-work rules as El Niño builds

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two executive orders on October 27 to prepare for storms from what federal forecasters expect to be a strong-to-very strong El Niño this winter. Executive Order N-13-26 sets up a Highway 1 Task Force and gives it until December 15, 2026, to report on the threats to the coastal highway and a plan to deal with them. Executive Order N-14-26 allows a range of state environmental laws and rules to be suspended, under conditions, so that public agencies can repair levees, clear stream channels and protect bridges and sea walls faster. Those suspensions end on January 31, 2027, unless a later order extends them.

Both orders build on a statewide state of emergency that the governor proclaimed on September 21 for the 2026-2027 El Niño. Since then, the second order says, California has seen "severe coastal flooding and unusual precipitation caused by Tropical Storm Rachel," and El Niño "has not yet reached its peak."

What forecasters say

In its monthly update on October 8, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center said El Niño was still strengthening and that a strong-to-very strong event was likely through January-March 2027, a chance of more than 83%. It put the chance of a historic event, stronger than any El Niño on record since 1950, at 83% for October-December. With an event of this size, it said, the chances of typical El Niño impacts are larger, "though not guaranteed." The governor's order makes a similar point: no particular storm can be predicted months in advance.

The Highway 1 order

Highway 1 runs 656 miles along the coast. The order says the coast generates about $51 billion in economic activity a year and supports 600,000 jobs. It cites the Regent's Slide of February 9, 2024, which closed 6.8 miles in Monterey County, and about $312 million in emergency project spending on the Big Sur corridor from 2020 to 2026.

The task force is convened by the California State Transportation Agency and the California Natural Resources Agency, with Caltrans, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the Coastal Commission, State Parks and other offices. It must identify the parts of the highway under immediate threat from this winter's El Niño. Its December report may include prioritized lists of actions and funding needs, ways to speed up permits, and an advance approval process for preventive projects on the Big Sur coast, such as places along the coast to dispose of debris. The order also tells Caltrans to prioritize landslide prevention where practicable and to promptly ask the Federal Highway Administration's Emergency Relief Program for help when storm conditions make it appropriate. State Parks must assess how closures would affect park access.

The flood-work order

The second order lets the Secretary for Natural Resources approve the suspension of laws and rules administered by his agency's boards and departments, case by case. They include the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Endangered Species Act, according to the Natural Resources Agency. Anyone who wants to work under a suspension must first ask the Secretary to confirm the project is eligible, and the Natural Resources Agency must post every approved suspension on its website.

The order sets limits. Channel clearing may not cut new low-flow channels, must stay in the dry parts of a channel and may not remove more than 30% of native vegetation per mile. Levees must be rebuilt as they were before September 21 or set back to widen the channel, and a suspension may not be used to build a new dam or raise an existing one beyond its authorized height. Nor may a suspension of the Delta Reform Act be used for the Delta Conveyance Project. The order also lets the Central Valley Flood Protection Board review El Niño permit applications before fees are paid and put them first, and it suspends a Public Resources Code provision, section 30600, so that sand berms and sandbags can be placed in the coastal zone.

What residents can do

The California Highway Patrol asks drivers to check Caltrans QuickMap for closures and chain controls, slow down on wet roads, check tires and wipers, and never drive through floodwater, which can hide a washed-out road. According to the governor's office, Caltrans is readying storm gear and supplies at more than 120 of its maintenance yards and has about 1,300 pieces of winter operations equipment that can be sent out. NOAA's next El Niño update is due on November 12.