If you run a small business, agricultural cooperative, aquaculture business or private non-profit organization and suffered damage during the severe Feb. 3-28 winter storms, you are invited to apply for a low-interest loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The Chester County Board of Commissioners recently announced the availability of the loans, which can help local small businesses meet financial obligations they could have met if the storms had not occurred. This type of loan offers relief from economic injury caused directly by ice and snow storms, and helps businesses maintain reasonable working capital.

The loans were made available following a disaster declaration request from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett on March 27. Eligible businesses and nonprofits may qualify for loans up to $2 million. The SBA offers these Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help businesses which worked through a disaster still meet their working capital needs. The rates on these loans are 4 percent for small businesses and 2.625 percent for non-profit organizations, with terms up to 30 years. The SBA determines eligibility for the loans based on the size and type of business and its financial resources.

Applications and program information are available by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Applicants may also apply online via SBA’s secure website, http://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Loan applications may also be downloaded from SBA’s website atwww.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.

The deadline to return economic injury applications is Jan. 2, 2015.