SACRAMENTO, Calif. – April 29, 2024 – Francisco Sánchez Jr., associate administrator for the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the Small Business Administration, today reminded Texas small nonfarm businesses of the deadline dates to apply for an SBA federal disaster loan for economic injury. These low-interest loans are to offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by adverse weather conditions in the following primary counties.

Declaration Number: 18230
Primary County: San Patricio
Neighboring Counties: Aransas, Bee, Jim Wells, Live Oak, Nueces and Refugio in Texas
Incident Type: Drought
Incident Date: Aug. 8, 2023 & continuing
Deadline: May 29, 2024

Declaration Number: 18233
Primary Counties: Bailey, Briscoe, Castro, Deaf Smith, Hale, Parmer, Randall and Swisher
Neighboring Counties: Armstrong, Carson, Cochran, Crosby, Donley, Floyd, Hall, Hockley, Lamb, Lubbock, Motley, Oldham and Potter in Texas; Curry, Quay and Roosevelt in New Mexico
Incident Type: Rain, Flooding, Hail and High Winds
Incident Date: May 1 through June 5, 2023
Deadline: May 29, 2024

Declaration Number: 18234
Primary Counties: Anderson, Archer, Baylor, Bexar, Blanco, Brown, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Deaf Smith, Ellis, Fannin, Foard, Gillespie, Grayson, Hardeman, Haskell, Hays, Henderson, Houston, Kaufman, Kendall, Lampasas, Leon, Limestone, Madison, McLennan, Navarro, Rockwall, Runnels, Stonewall, Van Zandt and Wilbarger
Neighboring Counties: Angelina, Atascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bell, Bosque, Brazos, Callahan, Castro, Cherokee, Childress, Clay, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Dickens, Eastland, Falls, Fayette, Fisher, Freestone, Gonzales, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Hill, Hunt, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Knox, Lamar, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Medina, Mills, Nolan, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Rains, Randall, Robertson, San Saba, Shackelford, Smith, Tarrant, Taylor, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Trinity, Walker, Wichita, Williamson, Wilson, Wood and Young in Texas;
Curry and Quay in New Mexico;
Bryan, Harmon, Jackson, Love, Marshall and Tillman in Oklahoma
Incident Type: Excessive Heat
Incident Date: June 1, 2023 & continuing
Deadline: May 29, 2024

Declaration Number: 18235
Primary Counties: Austin, Bailey, Bell, Bosque, Cameron, Cochran, Coke, Colorado, Coryell, Dawson, Duval, Erath, Falls, Fisher, Gonzales, Hill, Hood, Jefferson, Johnson, Lavaca, Llano, Mason, Matagorda, McCulloch, Nacogdoches, Nolan, Palo Pinto, Robertson, San Augustine, Shelby, Sterling, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Trinity, Washington, Webb, Wharton, Willacy, Williamson, Wilson,
Wise and Young
Neighboring Counties/Parishes: Angelina, Archer, Atascosa, Bastrop, Baylor, Bexar, Blanco, Borden, Brazoria, Brazos, Brooks, Brown, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Coleman, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Denton, DeWitt, Dimmit, Eastland, Ellis, Fayette, Fort Bend, Gaines, Gillespie, Glasscock, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Hardin, Haskell, Hidalgo, Hockley, Houston, Howard, Irion, Jack, Jackson, Jasper, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Jones, Karnes, Kenedy, Kent, Kimble, Knox, La Salle, Lamb, Lampasas, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Live Oak, Lynn, Madison, Martin, Maverick, McLennan, McMullen, Menard, Milam, Mitchell, Montague, Navarro, Orange, Panola, Parker, Parmer, Polk, Reagan, Runnels, Rusk, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Stonewall, Tarrant, Taylor, Terry, Travis, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Yoakum and Zapata in Texas; Cameron, DeSoto and Sabine in Louisiana; Curry, Lea and Roosevelt in New Mexico
Incident Type: Excessive Heat and Drought
Incident Date: June 1, 2023 & continuing
Deadline: May 29, 2024

According to Sánchez, small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet working capital needs caused by the disasters. “Economic Injury Disaster Loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disasters’ impact,” said Sánchez.

“SBA eligibility covers both the economic impacts on businesses dependent on farmers and ranchers that have suffered agricultural production losses caused by the disasters and businesses directly impacted by the disasters. Economic injury assistance is available regardless of whether the applicant suffered any property damage,” Sánchez added.

The interest rate is 4 percent for businesses and 2.375 percent for private nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Interest does not begin to accrue until 12 months from the date of the initial disaster loan disbursement. SBA disaster loan repayment begins 12 months from the date of the first disbursement.

By law, SBA makes Economic Injury Disaster Loans available when the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture designates an agricultural disaster. The Secretary declared these declarations on Sept. 29, 2023.

Businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching are not eligible for SBA disaster assistance. Agricultural enterprises should contact the Farm Services Agency about the U.S. Department of Agriculture assistance made available by the Secretary’s declaration. However, in drought disasters nurseries are eligible for SBA disaster assistance.

Applicants may apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information at SBA.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659‑2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.