Farms in Hartford, Litchfield, Tolland and Windham counties are eligible for disaster relief for damages incurred by Tropical Storm Irene, thanks to a U.S. Department of Agriculture declaration on Thursday.
"The counties were declared eligible because they are contiguous to Massachusetts counties that were declared Primary Natural Disaster Areas," according to a statement from the office of U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney.
Farmers in these counties have eight months to apply for emergency loan assistance, including Farm Service Agency loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program.
In other Irene-related news Thursday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's office announced that seven of the 11 FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers -- in East Haven, Farmington, Guilford, Groton, North Haven, Orange, and Torrington -- will "transition" into Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Outreach Centers at their current locations. A center in Greenwich will move to Bridgeport.
All but one of those centers will close permanently Oct. 6. East Haven will close Oct. 13.
Disaster Recovery Centers in the following municipalities have experienced low volume and will close sooner that that: Danielson and Storrs-Mansfield are closing Friday, and Old Saybrook is closing Tuesday.
"So far, SBA has approved more than $136,000 in low-interest disaster loans to Connecticut residents and businesses that suffered damage from Tropical Storm Irene. In addition, FEMA has approved $3.2 million in individual assistance in the state," the governor's office said in a statement.
"The counties were declared eligible because they are contiguous to Massachusetts counties that were declared Primary Natural Disaster Areas," according to a statement from the office of U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney.
Farmers in these counties have eight months to apply for emergency loan assistance, including Farm Service Agency loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program.
In other Irene-related news Thursday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's office announced that seven of the 11 FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers -- in East Haven, Farmington, Guilford, Groton, North Haven, Orange, and Torrington -- will "transition" into Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Outreach Centers at their current locations. A center in Greenwich will move to Bridgeport.
All but one of those centers will close permanently Oct. 6. East Haven will close Oct. 13.
Disaster Recovery Centers in the following municipalities have experienced low volume and will close sooner that that: Danielson and Storrs-Mansfield are closing Friday, and Old Saybrook is closing Tuesday.
"So far, SBA has approved more than $136,000 in low-interest disaster loans to Connecticut residents and businesses that suffered damage from Tropical Storm Irene. In addition, FEMA has approved $3.2 million in individual assistance in the state," the governor's office said in a statement.