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WASHINGTON – Low-interest disaster loans are available to Maryland small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses and most private non-profit organizations affected by Tropical Storm Lee on Sept. 6 -14, 2011.

SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills made the loans available following a request from Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Dec. 1 for a disaster declaration by the SBA.  The declaration covers Prince George’s County and the adjacent counties of Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Howard and Montgomery in Maryland; the Independent City of Alexandria and Fairfax County in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

“The Small Business Administration is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible to help small businesses and non-profits in Maryland with their federal disaster loans,” said Mills.  “Getting our businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA.”

“The SBA can help affected small businesses and non-profit organizations overcome their economic losses by offering working capital loans, but the help cannot start until they submit an SBA Disaster Loan application to us,” said Steve Umberger, SBA’s Maryland district director.

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 3 percent for non-profit organizations and 4 percent for businesses 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.  Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Applications and program information are available by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at
800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.  Business loan applications can also be downloaded from www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Those affected by the disaster may also apply for disaster loans electronically from the SBA’s website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

The deadline to return economic injury applications is September 7, 2012.