WEST CHESTER – The Chester County Board of Commissioners announced Friday, April 4,  the availability of low-interest economic injury disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), for small businesses affected by the severe winter storms which occurred from Feb. 3-28.

An economic injury disaster loan can help small businesses meet necessary financial obligations that the business would have met if the ice and snowstorms had not occurred.   The loan provides relief from economic injury caused directly by the ice and snowstorms and permits the business to maintain a reasonable working capital position.  Small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses and eligible private nonprofit organizations are invited to apply for the loans.

The loans were made available following a disaster declaration request from  Gov. Tom Corbett on March 27.  Eligible entities may qualify for loans up to $2 million.  The SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.  The rates on these loans are 4 percent for small businesses and 2.625 percent for nonprofit organizations, with terms up to 30 years.  The SBA determines eligibility for the loans based on the size and type of business and its financial resources.

Applications and program information are available by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.  Loan applications can also be downloaded from SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster, and 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 return economic injury applications is Jan. 2, 2015.