At a press conference Monday morning, federal and state officials gave a rundown on disaster help available for Vermont residents and businesses as they recover from last week’s flooding.
Assistance for individuals
So far, residents of Chittenden, Lamoille, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor counties are eligible for federal grants to help cover uninsured or under-insured losses resulting from last week’s flooding.
More counties are likely to be added to the list as federal assessments of the damage continue, and state officials said residents should wait until their county is approved before applying. As part of that data collection, state officials are encouraging residents to continue reporting damages by dialing 2-1-1 or visiting vermont211.org.
The aid is available through the Individual and Households Program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
“This assistance can be for home repairs, or rent support for displaced individuals while repairs are made, and for other disaster-related expenses such as medical, dental, funeral, moving and storage and personal property losses,” said FEMA branch director Chelsey Smith.
The agency will accept applications through Sept. 12 on its website and at its call center, said Smith. Staff will be available at recovery centers and on the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362 to answer questions.
Once a person registers for FEMA assistance, staff members, who will be carrying badges, will visit that property to learn more about the damage, Smith said. To date, the agency “has received 882 valid registrations for assistance,” with about $56,000 in recovery funding disbursed so far, she added.
Smith encouraged applicants to “save receipts, any contractor estimates, and take pictures of the damages.” She also urged people who have insurance to file claims with their insurance companies, adding that people cannot receive a FEMA grant for a loss that they are receiving an insurance pay-out for.
After registering with FEMA, individuals may also apply for a disaster loan from the Small Business Administration, or SBA. Those loans are available to homeowners and renters “even if you don’t have a business,” said Carl Dombek, the SBA public information officer, at the same press conference.
The SBA can loan up to $40,000 to individuals to cover personal property damage, including automobiles, and $200,000 to homeowners who are facing real estate damage.
Application forms, which are available on the SBA’s website, will be processed in two to three weeks, Dombek said. Loans can go toward replacing damaged goods, repairing a home and funding relocation expenses, and are interest-free for the first year. After that, the loans will incur an interest rate of 2.5%. Payment plans with terms of up to 30 years are available.
“The most important thing is to get in line, get the process started,” Dombek said.
Disaster loans for businesses
For businesses in the six counties that are part of FEMA’s disaster declaration, SBA loans of up to $2 million are available, Dombek said.
Nonprofit organizations are also eligible for the loans, but farms are not.
Application forms are on the SBA website. Assistance is also available on the SBA helpline at 1-800-659-2955.
The first category of loan available covers “physical damage” to real estate, equipment and inventory, and the second covers “economic injury.”
“Let’s say you have a shop up a hill and you were not touched by the floodwaters but the roads are washed out and nobody can get to you,” Dombek said. “You can be impacted economically.”
Businesses located in seven counties contiguous to the six named in the disaster declaration — Addison, Franklin, Grand Isle, Caledonia, Orleans, Bennington and Orange — are eligible for economic injury disaster loans, he said.
As with SBA loans for individuals, the agency is offering payment plans with terms of up to 30 years. After an interest-free first year, loans will incur an interest rate of 4% for most businesses and 2.375% for nonprofits.
Dombek urged business owners not to wait for their insurance claims to be settled before applying. “Don’t delay this,” he said. “We will coordinate with your insurance company and make sure that everything is as it needs to be.”
As for forgivable loans, Lindsay Kurrle, secretary of the state Agency of Commerce & Community Development, said, “I also want to provide some hope that there are some organic efforts happening around the state and our agency will continue to try to fill gaps.”
Kurrle pointed to grassroots efforts to raise money to help businesses, including the Vermont Main Street Flood Relief Fund and Vermont Flood Response and Recovery Fund of 2023.
Farmers waiting for a disaster declaration from D.C.
Farmers should document and report their losses to the Farm Service Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts.
On Friday, Gov. Phil Scott wrote to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, requesting a disaster declaration that includes agriculture. If it is approved, “that will start to free up more resources for our farm community,” Tebbetts said.
Until then, a list of suggested practices and resources for farmers is available on the state agriculture department’ website. Tebbetts also noted that various farm funds are being raised and distributed privately.
John Roberts, the state’s executive director for the USDA’s Farm Services Agency, noted several programs that would be available to farmers upon approval of the disaster designation, including the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program, and the Emergency Conservation Program.
“There are a number of programs, but reporting damage is the No. 1 step,” Roberts said. “And the sooner the better.”
