SBA DISAsTER LOANS AVAILABLE IN FLORIDA FOLLOWING SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE DECLARATION FOR DROUGHT

Worksheet by Businesses is No Longer Needed

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that federal disaster loans are now available to small businesses located in certain declared Florida counties and to contiguous counties including: Palm Beach, Martin, Indian River, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee, as a result of damages and losses to crops caused by drought since March 1. Under this declaration, SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small, non-farm, agriculture-dependent businesses and small agricultural cooperatives that suffered economic injury as a direct result of the weather's effect on agricultural producers.

This declaration makes it unnecessary for businesses to complete and submit preliminary “Estimated Disaster Economic Injury Worksheets” to the Palm Beach County Division of Emergency Management as announced in a previous news release. Eligible small businesses may qualify for loans up to $1.5 million. These loans are available at a 4 percent interest rate with loan terms up to 30 years.

SBA determines eligibility for the program based on the size and type of business and its financial resources. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based upon each applicant's financial condition. Under this disaster declaration, SBA cannot provide loans to agricultural producers, and cannot provide loans to non-agricultural dependent businesses.

Interested business owners should contact SBA's Customer Service Center by calling 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing-impaired), Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9.00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA's website at: http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than January 29, 2008.