SACRAMENTO, Calif.
– Small nonfarm businesses in 68 Arkansas counties; neighboring counties in Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas; and neighboring parishes in Louisiana are now eligible to apply for low‑interest federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, announced Director Tanya N. Garfield of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West. These loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by rain, flash flooding, flooding, hail, winds, lightning and tornadoes in the following primary counties that began Sept. 20, 2018.
Primary Arkansas counties: Arkansas, Ashley, Chicot, Clay, Conway, Craighead, Crawford, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Greene, Hot Spring, Independence, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Little River, Logan, Lonoke, Miller, Mississippi, Monroe, Perry, Phillips, Poinsett, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, Sebastian, Sevier, St. Francis, Stone, Washington, White, Woodruff and Yell;
Neighboring Arkansas counties: Baxter, Benton, Bradley, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas, Garland, Grant, Hempstead, Howard, Izard, Madison, Montgomery, Nevada, Newton, Polk, Saline, Scott, Searcy, Sharp, Union and Van Buren;
Neighboring Louisiana parishes: Bossier, Caddo, East Carroll, Morehouse, Union, Webster and West Carroll;
Neighboring Mississippi counties: Bolivar, Coahoma, DeSoto, Issaquena, Tunica and Washington;
Neighboring Missouri counties: Butler, Dunklin, Oregon, Pemiscot and Ripley;
Neighboring Oklahoma counties: Adair, Le Flore, McCurtain and Sequoyah;
Neighboring Tennessee counties: Dyer, Lauderdale, Shelby and Tipton;
Neighboring Texas counties: Bowie and Cass.
“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,” Garfield said.
Small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans 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 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 3.675 percent for businesses and 2.5 percent for private nonprofit organizations, a maximum term of 30 years and are available to small businesses and most private nonprofits without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship,” Garfield said.
By law, SBA makes Economic Injury Disaster Loans available when the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture designates an agricultural disaster. The Secretary declared this disaster on Aug. 14, 2019.
Businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching are not eligible for SBA disaster assistance. Agricultural enterprises should contact the Farm Services Agency about the U.S. Department of Agriculture assistance made available by the Secretary’s declaration.
Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at
https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela
. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email
disastercustomerservice@sba.gov
for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard‑of‑hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The deadline to apply for economic injury is April 15, 2020.