Although no oil has touched the Pinellas County shoreline, many local businesses have suffered losses due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In particular, local tourism and fishing-related businesses have been impacted by the disaster.
Pinellas County Economic Development staff offer free assistance to businesses, including help with applicatons for Florida’s Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. The SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to Pinellas County businesses at 4 percent interest rates with terms up to 30 years.
BP has opened a local claims office at 2551 Drew St. in Clearwater. To file an oil spill-related claim, it is recommended that a business first visit www.BP.com/claims or call the BP hotline at (800) 440-0858 to request a claim number.
Local businesses impacted by the oil spill can get free help from Pinellas County Economic Development to navigate options for financial assistance. Visit www.pced.org/disaster, e-mail businesshelp@pinellascounty.org or call (727) 453-7200.
For updated information on Pinellas County’s response to the oil spill, visit www.pinellascounty.org/oilspill.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Connect with us:
