Boxer, Feinstein Urge Small Business Administration to Help San Bruno Residents Recover and Rebuild

Senators Ask Agency to Declare San Mateo County a Disaster Area and Offer Low-Interest Loans

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (both D-CA) today wrote Small Business Administrator Karen Mills and urged her to declare San Mateo County a disaster area – a designation that would make residents and businesses eligible for low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA).

A natural gas explosion last Thursday in San Bruno, California, badly damaged or destroyed 49 properties, injured dozens of people and displaced about 150 people. Authorities have confirmed at least four fatalities.

California Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado requested assistance from the SBA. According to preliminary damage surveys conducted by the California Emergency Management Agency, 38 homes have been destroyed and 11 properties are so damaged that they are uninhabitable. Disaster loans would help residents repair and rebuild their homes.

The full text of Senator Boxer and Senator Feinstein’s letter is below:

The Honorable Karen Mills
Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration
409 3rd Street, S.W. Suite 7000
Washington, DC 20024-3212

Dear Administrator Mills:

We write in support of Lieutenant Governor Maldonado’s request for a Small Business Administration Disaster Declaration for San Mateo County. On September 9, 2010, a natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California resulted in at least 4 fatalities, dozens of injuries, destroyed 38 properties, badly damaged 11 properties, and displaced approximately 150 people.

A preliminary damage survey conducted by the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) determined $55,040,000.00 in damage to homes and vehicles and did not yet include costs of damage to public infrastructure. After the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) completes its assessment, we ask that San Mateo be declared a disaster area in order to qualify for federal disaster assistance that will be necessary to support recovery efforts.

Due to the devastation caused as a result of this explosion and resulting fire, we join Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado in requesting that you declare the County of San Mateo a disaster area. Assistance in the form of disaster loans in this area would be immensely helpful to the residents in this time of great need.

We appreciate the support that the SBA has provided to California in times such as these and thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer, United States Senator

Dianne Feinstein, United States Senator