§ 1945.20 - Making EM loans available.

EM loans will be made available to applicants having qualifying severe physical and/or production losses within a county named by FEMA as eligible for Federal assistance under a major disaster or emergency declaration by the President; or under a natural disaster determination by the Secretary of Agriculture, pursuant to §1945.6(c)(3)(iii) of this subpart; and to applicants having qualifying severe physical property losses when, prior to action by the President or the Secretary, the FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103–354 Administrator has determined (pursuant to §1945.6(c)(3)(ii) of this subpart) that such losses have occurred as a result of a natural disaster. Any determination made by the Secretary or the Administrator, pursuant to this subpart may be revised or reversed upon the receipt of new facts which establish that a change is warranted. FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103–354's policy is to make loans to any otherwise qualified applicant. When a county has been designated/declared a disaster area where eligible farmers may qualify for EM loans due to a disaster(s) occurring on or after May 31, 1983, under this section, all other counties contiguous to the eligible county(ies) are also named as areas where EM actual loss loans may be made to applicants whose operations have been substantially affected by the same disaster(s).

(a) Declaration by the President. When there is a Presidential major disaster or emergency declaration and FEMA has notified the FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103–354 National Office, the following actions will be taken:

(1) The National Office will immediately:

(i) Notify the State Director and the Director, Finance Office by telephone and confirm by electronic message. The notification will contain:

(A) The date of the declaration;

(B) The name(s) of the county(ies) determined eligible for Federal disaster assistance;

(C) The type of disaster;

(D) The incidence period for the disaster;

(E) The termination date for accepting applications; and

(F) The disaster declaration number [Examples: Major Disasters, M491; or Presidential Emergency, E061].

(ii) Take the actions required by §1945.21(a)(1) of this subpart.

(2) The State Director will immediately:

(i) Notify the appropriate County Supervisor(s) to make EM loans available in the declared counties, and confirm this notification by a State supplement containing information listed in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) (A) through (F) of this section.

(ii) Notify the SFAC Vice Chairperson, Emergency Programs, in writing; and

(iii) Prepare the public announcements deemed appropriate to inform the farm community, and coordinate the issuance of such announcements with FEMA's Public Information Officer.

(3) The County Supervisor will immediately upon receiving notification that the county(ies) has been declared a disaster area:

(i) Notify the Chairperson LFAC in writing;

(ii) Make such public announcements as seem appropriate to adequately inform the local farm community;

(iii) Arrange and conduct meetings with local agricultural lenders and agricultural leaders within 10 working days after the disaster declaration date to explain the purpose and the assistance available under the EM loan program; and

(iv) Be available to help staff the FEMA disaster assistance centers, when requested to do so.

(b) Determination by the Secretary of Agriculture. When a potential disaster has substantially affected farmers, causing qualifying severe losses and it is requested by a Governor or Indian Tribal Council that there be a determination that a natural disaster has occurred, the Secretary will acknowledge the request in writing and consider whether a determination should be made, provided the Secretary receives such request in writing within three months of the last day of the occurrence of such potential disaster. The Governor or Indian Tribal Council should send a copy of the request to the FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103–354 State Director. When the Secretary finds based on the material received pursuant to this subpart that the conditions of §1945.6(c)(3)(iii) (A) or (B) have been met, it shall be announced that a natural disaster has occurred. Also, if on finding that the conditions of §1945.6(c)(3)(iii)(C) of this subpart so warrant, the Secretary may determine that a natural disaster has occurred.

(1) Upon receipt of the Governor's or Indian Tribal Council's request through the Secretary's Office, the FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103–354 National Office will immediately take the following actions:

(i) Notify the State Director by telephone of the Governor's request.

(ii) Obtain an immediate report from the State Director on whether there have been severe physical property losses within each of the counties requested by the Governor or Indian Tribal Council.

(iii) Obtain a report from the State Director on production losses.

(2) The State Director will immediately:

(i) Notify the SFAC Vice Chairperson, Emergency Programs, that a DAR is needed, unless the Governor has already made such request to the SFAC Vice Chairperson, in accordance with the EOH for the requested county(ies); and

(ii) Advise the National Office on whether qualifying physical property losses have occurred.

(iii) Review each DAR, as soon as it is available, and forward it to the National Office with written comments on the extent of probable qualifying production losses, and other factors which are recommended for consideration by the Secretary in making determinations under §1945.6(c)(3) of this subpart. The State Director will also submit to the National Office a list of all agricultural commodities produced in the State, giving the average yearly prices for each commodity for the three years immediately preceding the disaster year; the county average yields for each commodity for the five years immediately preceding the disaster year; and any additional supportive information. Yields and prices data will be used to establish the normal year's production and will be obtained from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) by the State Director. In cases where crops produced and/or prices are not available from NASS, the information will be obtained from other reliable sources.

(iv) Upon receipt of the Administrator's request for a survey in connection with a request by the Secretary for information needed concerning §1945.6(c)(3)(iii)(C), expeditiously gather and compile the information requested and submit it to the Administrator with a recommendation. The survey will be conducted in a manner jointly agreed upon by the Administrator and the State Director.

(3) The National Office will:

(i) Immediately use the State Director's report and accompanying price and yield information to analyze and verify losses reported in the DAR(s), along with any other information and comments provided by the State Director.

(ii) Promptly forward a written report to the Secretary, along with supporting information, for use by the Secretary in making a decision on the requested natural disaster determination.

(4) The Secretary will review the results of the survey and determine whether a natural disaster has occurred.

(i) When the Secretary determines that a natural disaster has occurred:

(A) The Administrator will be directed to make EM loans available in the county(ies) named by the Secretary, as provided by law.

(B) The Administrator will notify the State Director, by electronic message, of the Secretary's decision. Such notice will not be given to the State Director until the Secretary has notified the Governor or Indian Tribal Council, from whom the natural disaster determination request was received.

(C) The National Office will immediately pursue the same course of action as described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, except the disaster determination number will be coded S and three numbers (Example S141).

(D) The State Director will immediately pursue the same course of action as described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(E) The County Supervisor will immediately pursue the same course of action as described in paragraph (a)(3) of this section.

(ii) When the Secretary determines that the conditions in §1945.6(c)(3)(iii) (A) or (B) of this subpart have not been met, and decides to consider other factors in accordance with §1945.6(c)(3)(iii)(C) of this subpart, the Secretary will:

(A) Request the Administrator to provide additional information for consideration through an actual survey of farmers and lending institutions in the county(ies) requested to be determined a natural disaster area.

(B) The Administrator will instruct the State Director to conduct the survey focusing on such factors as:

( 1 ) The nature and extent of production losses;

( 2 ) The number of farmers who have sustained qualifying production losses;

( 3 ) The number of farmers in paragraph (b)(4)(ii)(B)( 2 ) of this section that other lenders in the County Office area indicate they will not be in a position to finance;

( 4 ) Whether the losses will cause undue hardship to a certain segment of farmers in the county;

( 5 ) Whether damage to particular crops has resulted in undue hardship;

( 6 ) Whether other Federal and/or State benefit programs, which are being made available due to the same disaster, will consequently lessen undue hardship and the demand for EM loans; and

( 7 ) Any other factors considered relevant.

(iii) If the Secretary finds that the conditions of §1945.6(c)(3)(iii) (A) or (B) of this subpart have not been met, and decides that the conditions do not warrant a natural disaster finding under §1945.6(c)(3)(iii)(C) of this subpart, the Governor or Indian Tribal Council and other concerned officials will be notified of this and the reason(s) for the Secretary's conclusions.

(c) Notification by the FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103–354 Administrator. When the Administrator determines that an unusual and adverse weather condition or natural phenomenon has substantially affected farmers, causing qualifying severe physical losses, the Administrator will make EM physical loss loans available in the county(ies) identified and notify the State Director by electronic message.

(1) The Administrator, upon notifying the State Director that EM physical loss loans are to be made available, will issue the following:

(i) The Administrator's notification number (Example: N181);

(ii) The incidence period for the natural disaster; and

(iii) The termination date for accepting applications.

(2) The State Director upon receiving written notification by electronic message from the Administrator will notify:

(i) Appropriate County Supervisor(s) to commence processing EM loan applications in appropriate county(ies).

(ii) The SFAC Vice Chairperson, Emergency Programs; and

(iii) The news media with appropriate announcements.

(3) The Administrator will notify the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture of any action taken concerning physical property losses. The National Office will also provide the same information to the appropriate Governor or Indian Tribal Council, FEMA, ASCS, SBA and other concerned officials at their request.

(4) Upon notification from the State Director that EM loans are available in a county, the County Supervisor will pursue the course of action described in §1945.20(a)(3) of this subpart.

(d) Relationship between Administrator's notification and Secretary's determination. Both the Administrator and the Secretary can make natural disaster determinations affecting the same county:

(1) When the Administrator has made physical loss loans available pursuant to §1945.6(c)(3)(ii), and the Secretary later makes production loss loans available pursuant to §1945.6(c)(3)(iii) on the basis of the same unusual and adverse weather condition or natural phenomenon, such physical and production losses will be considered to be caused by a single natural disaster. Any physical loss loans made pursuant to the Administrator's earlier notification will be included in the maximum amount available to an applicant as prescribed in §1945.163(e) of subpart D of part 1945 of this chapter.

(2) When a series of unusual and adverse weather conditions or natural phenomena occur in a county within the same crop year, and it is not possible for the Secretary to assess the damages in order to determine whether the conditions in §1945.6(c)(3)(iii) have been met until the end of such series or the crop year, a determination that a natural disaster has occurred shall be considered for both physical property and production losses to be due to a single natural disaster. Any physical loss loans made pursuant to the Administrator's earlier notification will be included in the maximum amount available to an applicant as prescribed in §1945.163(e) of subpart D of part 1945 of this chapter.

(e) Extension of termination dates for continuing disaster conditions. When a natural disaster continues beyond the date on which an Administrator's notification or Secretary's determination is made, and when there are continuing losses or damages caused by that disaster, the Administrator will extend the incidence period and the termination date for such specified period as the Administrator finds appropriate, but not in excess of 60 days. The following actions will be taken to obtain an extension:

(1) The County Supervisor will advise the State Director of the conditions for which an extension is requested.

(2) The State Director will make a recommendation to the Administrator on whether an extension should be granted; and

(3) The Administrator will, if the request is granted:

(i) Amend the initial notification/determination (using the same number) by establishing a new incidence period and termination date; and

(ii) Notify the State Director by electronic message.

(f) Limitations. When actions are authorized by the Secretary or the Administrator under paragraphs (b) or (c) of this section, such actions will ordinarily be completed within six months after the beginning date of the incidence period of a reported disaster, except when the actions required in paragraph (b)(2) of this section cause a delay beyond the six months period, in which event the actions must be completed within nine months of the beginning date of the incidence period. The Secretary may extend this limitation up to 12 months from the beginning date of the incidence period if there were other exceptional causes for the delay.