HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Corbett today announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration approved his request to declare the counties of Jefferson, Clearfield and Fayette a disaster area after flooding in western Pennsylvania from weather events starting June 27.
Citizens in the three counties and the 14 counties that border them may be eligible for low-interest disaster loans through the SBA Disaster Loan Programs. The bordering counties are as follows: Armstrong, Blair, Clarion, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland.
SBA officials, along with local and state officials, conducted damage assessments at the site. The governor used the damage assessment results to support his assistance request to the SBA.
“The effects of the rainfall since June 27 have had impacts across Pennsylvania, but the western part of the state has been hit the hardest,” Corbett said. “We are grateful that the Small Business Administration granted our request for assistance for those affected by the flooding.”
According to Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Glenn Cannon, the damage from the flooding exceeds the SBA criteria of at least 25 homes and or businesses with uninsured losses of 40 percent or more of their estimated fair market value.
Low-interest loans of up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. SBA regulations permit loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace personal property. Businesses and nonprofits can borrow up to $2 million to restore damaged or destroyed buildings, inventory, equipment and assets. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial qualifications.
The SBA has established a disaster loan outreach center at the following locations.
Clearfield County
DuBois Area United Way
223 S. Jared St.
DuBois, PA 15801
Fayette County
Joseph A. Hardy – Connellsville Airport
(New Terminal Building)
988 Sky Drive
Lemont Furnace, PA 15456
Jefferson County
First United Methodist Church of Reynoldsville
504 Jackson St.
Reynoldsville, PA 15851-1356
Open:
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 23-30
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 27
Closed July 28
Closing: July 30 at close of business
SBA customer service representatives will be on hand at the disaster loan outreach center to issue loan applications, answer questions about the disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals to complete their applications.
Individuals and businesses unable to visit the center in person may obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., or by e-mailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA Web site.
Completed applications should be returned to the center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76155. Victims may apply for disaster loans from SBA’s secure Web site.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Sept. 16. The deadline to return economic injury applications is April 16, 2014.