Disaster News

Sacramento, CA – Small, non-farm businesses in 192 Texas counties and neighboring counties in New Mexico and Oklahoma are now eligible to apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA).  “These loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by drought, above-normal temperatures and associated wildfires that occurred in the following 69 primary Texas counties beginning January 1, 2009,” announced Alfred E. Judd, Director of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center  West. 

Primary Texas counties:  Angelina, Atascosa, Bailey, Bandera, Bexar, Brazoria, Brazos, Briscoe, Brooks, Burleson, Cameron, Castro, Clay, Colorado, Crockett, Crosby, Deaf Smith, Denton, Dimmit, Duval, Edwards, Fort Bend, Frio, Gaines, Galveston, Goliad, Grayson, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hale, Hall, Hardeman, Harris, Haskell, Hidalgo, Hood, Houston, Jack, Jackson, Jeff Davis, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Kerr, Kimble, Lamb, Lavaca, Leon, Lynn, Madison, Milam, Mitchell, Montgomery, Palo Pinto, Parker, Parmer, Refugio, Robertson, Somervell, Starr, Swisher, Trinity, Walker, Ward, Webb, Wheeler, Willacy, Williamson, Zapata and Zavala;

Neighboring Texas counties:  Anderson, Andrews, Aransas, Archer, Armstrong, Austin, Bastrop, Baylor, Bee, Bell, Borden, Bosque, Brewster, Burnet, Caldwell, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Childress, Cochran, Coke, Collin, Collingsworth, Comal, Cooke, Cottle, Crane, Culberson, Dallas, Dawson, Dewitt, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Ector, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Freestone, Garza, Gillepsie, Gonzales, Gray, Hays, Hemphill, Hockley, Howard, Hudspeth, Irion, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Karnes, Kendall, Kenedy, Kent, King, Kinney, Kleberg, Knox, La Salle, Lee, Liberty, Limestone, Live Oak, Loving, Lubbock, Martin, Mason, Matagorda, Maverick, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Montague, Motley, Nacogdoches, Nolan, Nueces, Oldham, Pecos, Polk, Potter, Presidio, Randall, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Roberts, San Augustine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Tarrant, Terrell, Terry, Throckmorton, Travis, Tyler, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Victoria, Waller, Washington, Wharton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Wilson, Winkler, Wise, Yoakum and Young;

Neighboring New Mexico counties:  Curry, Lea, Quay and Roosevelt;

Neighboring Okalahoma counties:  Beckham, Bryan, Cotton, Harmon, Jackson, Jefferson, Love, Marshall and Roger Mills.

“SBA eligibility covers both the economic impacts on businesses dependent on farmers and ranchers that have suffered agricultural production losses caused by the disaster and businesses directly impacted by the disaster,” Judd said.

Small, non-farm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most private, non-profit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred.

“Eligibility for these working capital loans is based on the financial impact of the disaster only and not on any actual property damage.  These loans have an interest rate of 4%, a maximum term of 30 years, and are restricted to small businesses without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship,” Judd added.

By law, SBA makes EIDLs available when the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture designates an agricultural disaster.  Secretary Tom Vilsack declared this disaster at the request of Governor Rick Perry.

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Businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching are not eligible for SBA disaster assistance.  Agricultural enterprises should contact the Farm Services Agency (FSA) about the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) assistance made available by the Secretary’s declaration.