Disaster Areas - Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Texas |
LOUISIANA STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
|
|
TO: |
Lenders and Schools |
DATE: |
June 16, 1999 |
TOPIC: |
Disaster Areas - Colorado, Kansas (new counties in italics), Missouri (new counties in italics), Iowa (new counties in italics) and Texas (new counties in italics) |
Bent, El Paso, Larimer, Otero, Pueblo and Weld counties in Colorado have been declared to be disaster areas because of damages caused by severe storms and flooding beginning April 29, 1999.
Reno, Sedgwick and Sumner counties in Kansas have been declared to be disaster areas because of damages caused by tornadoes that occurred May 3-4, 1999.
Andrew, Cole, Iron, Macon, Madison, and Osage counties in Missouri have been declared to be disaster areas because of damages caused by flooding and severe storms beginning April 3, 1999.
Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Clayton, Clinton, Crawford, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Harrison, Jones, Linn and Scott counties in Iowa have been declared to be disaster areas because of damages caused by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding beginning May 16, 1999.
Bowie, Gregg, Red River and Titus counties in Texas have been declared to be disaster areas because of damages caused by tornadoes that occurred May 4, 1999.
Disaster-related Forbearance Policy
1. Loan holders are strongly recommended to grant forbearances to borrowers who contact them and indicate that they have been adversely affected by the disaster and need temporary relief from their loan obligations. If the holder believes that the borrower has been harmed and needs assistance, the holder may grant a forbearance for up to 3 months after the disaster strikes the borrower, based on either the borrower's oral or written request for assistance, which must be documented in the holder's files.
2. The holder does not need to obtain supporting documentation or a signed written agreement from the borrower to justify a forbearance for this initial 3-month period. The Secretary will decline to enforce the requirements of 34 CFR 682.211(c) for this period.
3. A continuation of the forbearance past this 3-month period will require supporting documentation and a written agreement from the borrower.
We will notify you if additional areas are designated. Questions and concerns may be
addressed to the Departments toll-free number at 1-800-433-7327, Monday through
Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.