Federal Disaster Loans Available For Baltimore Co. Flood Victims

TOWSON, MD — The U.S. Small Business Administration is making low-interest loans available to certain small businesses in Baltimore County that were hit hard last summer by rains and flash flooding, according to county officials.

The Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to businesses affected by rain and flash flooding that began July 21, 2018. This economic aid is available to small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and private nonprofit organizations in Baltimore County and several other Maryland counties.

“These counties are eligible because they are contiguous to one or more primary counties in Pennsylvania. The Small Business Administration recognizes that disasters do not usually stop at county or state lines. For that reason, counties adjacent to primary counties named in the declaration are included,” said Kem Fleming, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East, in a statement.

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 2.5 percent for private nonprofit organizations of all sizes and 3.61 percent for small businesses, with terms up to 30 years. The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoan.sba.gov.

Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained 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. Loan applications can be downloaded from www.sba.gov.