The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that Boyle County residents can apply for economic injury disaster loans for damage from tornadoes on Dec. 11, 2021.

Businesses and residents affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, and tornadoes beginning on Dec. 10, 2021, are eligible for Physical and/or Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) from the SBA. The deadline for physical disaster loans has been extended from Feb. 10 to March 14, 2022. The deadline for EIDL applications is Sept. 12, 2022.

Primary counties in the Kentucky disaster declaration are eligible for both loans. Some adjacent counties are eligible only for EIDLs.

The SBA added two additional counties to the Kentucky disaster declaration in January, Barren and Marion. Small businesses and most private non-profit organizations in the additional adjacent counties of Boyle, Monroe, Nelson, and Washington are now eligible to apply for EIDLs.

The disaster declaration covers Barren, Caldwell, Christian, Fulton, Graves, Hart, Hickman, Hopkins, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Taylor, and Warren counties in Kentucky. Adjacent counties eligible to apply only for EIDLs are Adair, Allen, Boyle, Breckinridge, Butler, Calloway, Carlisle, Casey, Crittenden, Daviess, Edmonson, Grayson, Green, Hancock, Hardin, Larue, Livingston, McCracken, McLean, Metcalfe, Monroe, Nelson, Simpson, Todd, Trigg, Washington and Webster in Kentucky.

EIDLs are for owners and renters to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Physical disaster loans are for physical property damage. EIDL assistance is available whether or not the business suffered physical property damage.

Businesses of all sizes, non-profit organizations, faith-based organizations, small aquaculture businesses, and small agricultural cooperatives can apply for losses that their insurance did not cover. EIDLs can be used to meet ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster.

Interest rates for EIDLs are 2.8% for businesses and 1.875% for non-profits. Terms are up to 30 years and no collateral is required for loans of $25,000 or less. Loans can be up to $2 million. The amount of each loan is limited to the economic injury determined by SBA, and is based on each applicant’s financial condition.

What Restrictions are there on Loan Eligibility?
• Uninsured Losses – Only uninsured or otherwise uncompensated disaster losses are eligible. Any insurance proceeds which are required to be applied against outstanding mortgages are not available to fund disaster repairs and do not reduce loan eligibility. However, any insurance proceeds voluntarily applied to any outstanding mortgages do reduce loan eligibility.

• Ineligible Property – Secondary homes, personal pleasure boats, airplanes, recreational vehicles and similar property are not eligible, unless used for business purposes. Property such as antiques and collections are eligible only to the extent of their functional value. Amounts for landscaping, swimming pools, etc., are limited.

• Noncompliance – Applicants who have not complied with the terms of previous SBA loans may not be eligible. This includes borrowers who did not maintain flood and/or hazard insurance on previous SBA loans. Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application on SBA’s website at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/, and should apply under SBA declaration number 17286.

To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, applicants should register online at DisasterAssistance.gov or download the FEMA mobile app.

Applicants can also call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362.

If applicants have questions, they can call SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or email DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded at sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

“Individuals do not have to wait for their insurance settlement to apply for a loan,” SBA Public Affairs Specialist Courtney Smith said. “They can get money from SBA to start their repairs and then assign their insurance settlement to pay down their loan.”

The economic injury deadline for applications is Sept. 12, 2022.

If applicants would like in-person help when applying for SBA loans, they may visit a Business Recovery Center (BRC), where customer service representatives are available. The BRCs in Kentucky and their hours are listed below.
• BRC 01 Joe Creason Community Center, 1600 Park Avenue, Benton, KY 42025 (9:00A-6:00P CST)

• BRC 02 Hopkins County Regional Chamber of Commerce, 15 E Center St, Madisonville, KY 42431 (8:00A-6:00P CST)

• BRC 03 Western Kentucky University Center for Research & Development, WKU Business Accelerator Center, 2413 Nashville Rd, Room 118, Bowling Green, KY 42104 (8:00A-5:00P CST)

Physical Damage Disaster Loans, which are eligible to primary disaster counties, not including Boyle, are available to businesses, non-profits, homeowners, and renters. Businesses can use loans up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.

Homeowners and renters may use loan proceeds to repair or replace a primary residence to its pre-disaster condition. Loans are up to $200,000. The deadline for physical property damage is March 14.