SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available to Texas Small Businesses

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Small nonfarm businesses in the following counties are now eligible to apply for low‑interest federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. These loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by adverse weather conditions that occurred in the following primary counties in Texas announced Director Jeffrey Lusk of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West. 

Declaration Number:  18230 
Primary County:  San Patricio 
Neighboring Counties/Parishes:  Aransas, Bee, Jim Wells, Live Oak, Nueces and Refugio in Texas 
Incident Type:  Drought 
Incident Date:  Aug. 8, 2023 & continuing 
Deadline:  May 29, 2024 

Declaration Number:  18233 
Primary Counties:  Bailey, Briscoe, Castro, Deaf Smith, Hale, Parmer, Randall and Swisher 
Neighboring Counties/Parishes:  Armstrong, Carson, Cochran, Crosby, Donley, Floyd, Hall, Hockley, Lamb, Lubbock, Motley, Oldham and Potter in Texas; 
Curry, Quay and Roosevelt in New Mexico 
Incident Type:  Rain, Flooding, Hail and High Winds 
Incident Date:  May 1 through June 5, 2023 
Deadline:  May 29, 2024 

Declaration Number:  18234 
Primary Counties:  Anderson, Archer, Baylor, Bexar, Blanco, Brown, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Deaf Smith, Ellis, Fannin, Foard, Gillespie, Grayson, Hardeman, Haskell, Hays, Henderson, Houston, Kaufman, Kendall, Lampasas, Leon, Limestone, Madison, McLennan, Navarro, Rockwall, Runnels, Stonewall, Van Zandt and Wilbarger 
Neighboring Counties/Parishes:  Angelina, Atascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bell, Bosque, Brazos, Callahan, Castro, Cherokee, Childress, Clay, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Dickens, Eastland, Falls, Fayette, Fisher, Freestone, Gonzales, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Hill, Hunt, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Knox, Lamar, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Medina, Mills, Nolan, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Rains, Randall, Robertson, San Saba, Shackelford, Smith, Tarrant, Taylor, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Trinity, Walker, Wichita, Williamson, Wilson, Wood and Young in Texas;  
Curry and Quay in New Mexico; 
Bryan, Harmon, Jackson, Love, Marshall and Tillman in Oklahoma 
Incident Type:  Excessive Heat 
Incident Date:  June 1, 2023 & continuing 
Deadline:  May 29, 2024 

Declaration Number:  18235 
Primary Counties:  Austin, Bailey, Bell, Bosque, Cameron, Cochran, Coke, Colorado, Coryell, Dawson, Duval, Erath, Falls, Fisher, Gonzales, Hill, Hood, Jefferson, Johnson, Lavaca, Llano, Mason, Matagorda, McCulloch, Nacogdoches, Nolan, Palo Pinto, Robertson, San Augustine, Shelby, Sterling, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Trinity, Washington, Webb, Wharton, Willacy, Williamson, Wilson, 
Wise and Young 
Neighboring Counties/Parishes:  Angelina, Archer, Atascosa, Bastrop, Baylor, Bexar, Blanco, Borden, Brazoria, Brazos, Brooks, Brown, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Coleman, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Denton, DeWitt, Dimmit, Eastland, Ellis, Fayette, Fort Bend, Gaines, Gillespie, Glasscock, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Hardin, Haskell, Hidalgo, Hockley, Houston, Howard, Irion, Jack, Jackson, Jasper, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Jones, Karnes, Kenedy, Kent, Kimble, Knox, La Salle, Lamb, Lampasas, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Live Oak, Lynn, Madison, Martin, Maverick, McLennan, McMullen, Menard, Milam, Mitchell, Montague, Navarro, Orange, Panola, Parker, Parmer, Polk, Reagan, Runnels, Rusk, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Stonewall, Tarrant, Taylor, Terry, Travis, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Yoakum and Zapata in Texas; 
Cameron, De Soto and Sabine in Louisiana;  
Curry, Lea and Roosevelt in New Mexico 
Incident Type:  Excessive Heat and Drought 
Incident Date:  June 1, 2023 & continuing 
Deadline:  May 29, 2024 

“SBA eligibility covers both the economic impacts on businesses dependent on farmers and ranchers that have suffered agricultural production losses caused by the disasters and businesses directly impacted by the disasters,” Lusk 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 disasters not occurred. 

“Eligibility for these loans is based on the financial impact of the disasters only and not on any actual property damage. These loans have an interest rate as low as 4 percent for businesses and 2.375 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,” Lusk said. 

Interest does not begin to accrue until 12 months from the date of the initial disaster loan disbursement. SBA disaster loan repayment begins 12 months from the date of the first disbursement. 

By law, SBA makes economic injury available when the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture designates an agricultural disaster.  The Secretary declared these declarations on Sept. 29.  

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. However, nurseries are eligible for SBA disaster assistance in drought disasters. 

Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/. 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. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX  76155. 


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About the U.S. Small Business Administration 
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.