Vermont Business Magazine Vermont residents and businesses approved for a disaster loan from the US Small Business Administration due to severe storms and flooding from July 7 through July 17, 2023, have two years from the date of their loan approval to request an increase to prevent or minimize damages from similar disasters in the future. Mitigation funds from the SBA are an affordable way for survivors to rebuild smarter, stronger, and pay for improvements that protect life and property.
“The opportunity to include measures to help prevent future damage from occurring is a significant benefit of SBA’s disaster loan program,” said SBA Associate Administrator Francisco Sanchez, Jr. “I encourage everyone to consult their contractors and emergency management mitigation specialists for ideas and apply for an SBA disaster loan increase for funding.”
Businesses and homeowners may be eligible for a loan increase up to 20 percent of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA, to cover the cost of improvements. Those measures can include regrading or terracing landscaping to improve drainage, installing a French drain, installing a sump pump, installing a diverter to change to path of water flowing from the roof, installing a backflow value, and more. Also, mitigation can be used to install a safe room or storm shelter built to Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines. To learn more about mitigation options visit www.sba.gov/mitigation.
For more information, call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services) or email [email protected] and ask about increasing your SBA disaster loan for mitigation purposes.
The filing deadline to submit applications for physical property damage is Sept. 12, 2023. The deadline to submit economic injury applications is April 15, 2024.
SBA Vermont District Office
87 State St., Unit 205
Montpelier, VT 05601
Phone: 802-828-4422
www.sba.gov/vt
