Press Releases
8/13/2008 | GOVERNOR RENDELL REQUESTS U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANCE FOR ALLEGHENY COUNTY
HARRISBURG — Governor Edward G. Rendell today asked the U.S. Small Business Administration to declare Allegheny County a disaster area following a fire in McKeesport on July 11 that led to extensive losses.
The designation would make low-interest loans available to eligible renters and business owners who suffered damages in the incident.
"Our biggest concern is getting everyone who was impacted by this fire back to normal as quickly as possible and federal SBA funding would help make that happen," Governor Rendell said.
In a letter sent to the federal agency, the Governor said that Allegheny County qualifies for the emergency loan program based on the results of a joint Federal and Commonwealth Preliminary Damage Assessment. The damage in McKeesport, Allegheny County exceeds the Small Business Administration criteria of at least 25 homes and/or businesses with uninsured losses of 40 percent or more of their estimated fair market value.
While the preliminary damage assessments meet SBA requirements, the damage does not qualify for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If the SBA request is approved, eligible renters could borrow up to $40,000 to replace possessions lost in the fire and eligible business owners could borrow up to $1.5 million.
More information on disaster assistance in Pennsylvania is available online at www.pema.state.pa.us; click on "Disaster Assistance and Updates" in the left-hand column.