A state senator contends that the Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to properly notify the public about a new floodplain map scheduled to take effect Aug. 19 and has asked U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman to help postpone the changes.

But FEMA officials say they kept Valencia County fully informed about the proposed floodplain map and that county officials were responsible for forwarding public complaints about the changes to FEMA.

State Sen. Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, contends the public had no opportunity to comment on FEMA's plan. Nor has the agency explained if additional Valencia County homeowners would be required to buy flood insurance, Sanchez said.

"Down here in Valencia County, I still don't know who is going to be affected" by the new floodplain map, Sanchez said. "Is it one person, two people, 100 people or 1,000 people? I haven't been able to get an answer to that question."

Valencia County is required to incorporate the new map into its floodplain management regulations by Aug. 19 or face possible suspension from the National Flood Insurance Program.

In a July 7 letter to Bingaman's office, Sanchez said that "residents of Valencia County whose properties fall within the expanded flood zones have little time to plan or prepare for the increased costs," and asked for Bingaman's help postponing the change.

Bingaman's office forwarded the letter last week to FEMA administrators in Denton, Texas, asking for details about the public notification process.

FEMA officials provided the Journal with a letter the agency sent to Valencia County officials on July 21, 2009, that spelled out the public-appeal process and the timeline for revising the floodplain map.

The letter, addressed to Valencia County Manager Eric Zamora, said that a 90-day public comment period about the proposed floodplain map began Aug. 1, 2009, the day FEMA published the second of two legal notices in the Valencia County News-Bulletin.

The letter states that county officials were responsible for gathering public input about the proposal and sending them to FEMA. It also suggests that county officials take steps to notify residents about the appeals process.

Hoss Foster, Valencia County's floodplain administrator, said he did not see the FEMA letter until after the 90-day public comment period had ended. The letter was addressed to a county official who was "out in the field quite a bit and didn't get his mail," he said.

The county now has little choice but to accept the new floodplain map without hiring an engineering firm at prohibitive cost, Foster said.

To see an interactive version of the new floodplain map, visit the county's website at www.co.valencia.nm.us and click "proposed FEMA flood maps."

Maps also are available at Foster's office at the Valencia County Courthouse, 444 Luna Ave. in Los Lunas.