After months of collaboration and the continuous sharing of information resulting in preliminary flood maps, St. Mary Parish officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are asking the public to participate in a 90-day comment period about proposed maps for Berwick and Patterson.

Homeowners, renters and business owners in St. Mary Parish have from Nov. 15 to Feb. 13, 2012, to provide general comments or to file an appeal or protest if there are possible errors on the map.

An appeal is a formal objection to proposed base flood elevations. Appeals must be based on technical data that show proposed maps to be scientifically incorrect. Anyone who makes an appeal must include the method, data and analysis used to support the claim.

A protest challenges information or data other than base flood elevation, such as changes to flood plain boundaries, corporate limits or roads and road names. Comments, appeals and protests should be sent to FEMA through the local floodplain administrator.

Anyone who hasn’t had a chance to participate in local flood insurance meetings or to review the new flood maps is encouraged to contact their parish or community floodplain administrator. Other resources include:

—Viewing base flood elevation notices at www.floodmaps.fema.gov/fhm/Scripts/bfe_main.asp.

—Using a live chat service about flood maps at http://go.usa.gov/r6C. Click on the “Live Chat” icon.

—Contacting a FEMA map specialist at 877-FEMA MAP (877-336-2627); email FEMAMapSpecialist@riskmapcds.com.

Once all comments/protests are resolved, FEMA will notify communities of the effective date of the final maps.