Atlanta, Ga - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that federal disaster loans are available to small, non-farm, agriculture-dependent businesses in various counties in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
These counties were economically impacted due to losses caused by Hurricane Ivan that occurred September 15 - 17, 2004, according to SBA Disaster Area Director Michael C. Allen.
Small businesses in these Georgia counties are eligible:
| Atkinson | Bacon | Baker |
| Banks | Barrow | Bartow |
| Ben Hill | Berrien | Brooks |
| Calhoun | Catoosa | Chattahoochee |
| Cherokee | Clarice | Clay |
| Cobb | Coffee | Colquitt |
| Crisp | Dade | Dawson |
| Decatur | Dooly | Dougherty |
| Early | Elbert | Fannin |
| Floyd | Franklin | Gilmer |
| Gordon | Grady | Greene |
| Habersham | Hall | Hart |
| Irwin | Jackson | Jeff Davis |
| Lee | Lumpkin | Macon |
| Madison | Marion | Miller |
| Mitchell | Morgan | Murray |
| Oconee | Oglethorpe | Paulding |
| Pickens | Polk | Quitman |
| Rabun | Randolph | Stephens |
| Schley | Seminole | Stewart |
| Sumter | Taylor | Telfair |
| Terrell | Thomas | Towns |
| Union | Walker | Walton |
| Ware | Webster | White |
| Whitfield | Worth |
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"SBA can help these small businesses overcome their economic injuries by offering these working capital loans, but the help can't start until they apply," Allen added, Under this declaration, SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small, non-farm, agriculture-dependent businesses and small agricultural cooperatives that suffered economic injury as a direct result of the weather's effect on agricultural producers.
According to Allen, farm implement dealers, seed and feed, spraying, and irrigation businesses are examples of businesses most typically in need of assistance from the SBA. Businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching are ineligible for SBA disaster assistance, Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) provide working capital to small businesses so they can continue to pay bills and meet normal operating expenses. Maximum loans to a business of up to $1.5 million are available at 2.9 percent interest with loan terms of up to 30 years.
SBA determines eligibility for the program based on the size and type of business and its financial resources. Under this disaster declaration, SBA does not provide loans to agricultural producers, and cannot provide loans to non-agricultural dependent businesses-
Interested business owners should contact:
SBA Disaster Area 2 Office
One Baltimore Place, Suite 300
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Or call 1-800-359-2227 for more information or to obtain an application, Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than October 11,2005.
For more information visit SBA 's website at
www.sba.gov/disaster
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