JACKSON , Miss., /PRNewswire/ --

"Small businesses that suffered economic injury losses as a result of the disaster wanting to apply for a low-interest loan from the SBA are urged to do so before the May 29 deadline," said Frank Skaggs, Director of SBA Field Operations Center East.

The U.S. Small BusinessAdministration (SBA) is reminding businesses in the declared counties ofAdams, Amite, Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Clay, Copiah,Covington, Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds,Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jackson , Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis ,Jones, Kemper, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes,Madison, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Pearl River , Perry, Pike, Rankin, Sharkey, Scott, Simpson, Smith, Stone,Sunflower, Walthall, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson, Winstonand Yazoo in the State of Mississippi and the contiguous counties of Choctaw,Lamar, Mobile, Pickens, Sumter and Washington in the State of Alabama that Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are still available to small businesses that were economically impacted by Hurricane Katrina that occurred August 29,2005 and continued through October 14, 2005 .

Small businesses may apply for a loan up to $l.5 million if they suffered substantial economic injury from the disaster. These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. These loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

The interest rate on these loans is 4.000 percent, with a maximum term of 30 years. The SBA determines the amount of economic injury, the terms of each loan and the payment amount, based on the financial circumstances of each borrower.

To obtain a loan application, interested business owners should contact SBA's National Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955 (for the hearing-impaired 1-800-877-8339); Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., EDT . Business disaster loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA's website at http://www.sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, National Processingand Disbursement Center - 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.