Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 77343 

Dated: August 12, 2013. 

Karen G. Mills, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2013–30314 Filed 12–20–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

13 CFR Part 121 

RIN 3245–AG25 

Small Business Size Standards: 

Utilities 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The United States Small 

Business Administration (SBA) is 

revising the size standards for 13 

industries in North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) Sector 

22, Utilities. Specifically, SBA has 

increased receipts based size standards 

for three industries and changed the 

basis for measuring business size from 

megawatt hours to number of employees 

for the 10 electric power generation, 

transmission, and distribution 

industries. In addition, SBA is removing 

Footnote 1 from SBA’s Table of Size 

Standards that applies to all of the 

NAICS codes in electric power 

generation, transmission, and 

distribution. As part of its ongoing 

comprehensive size standards review, 

SBA evaluated all megawatt hour and 

receipts based size standards for 

industries in NAICS Sector 22 to 

determine whether they should be 

retained or revised. SBA did not review 

the employee based size standard for 

Natural Gas Distribution, NAICS 

221210, in this rule, but will review it 

in the near future with other employee 

based size standards. 

DATES: This rule is effective January 22, 

2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Jorge Laboy-Bruno, Economist, Office of 

Standards, by phone at (202) 205–6618 

or email at sizestandards@sba.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To 

determine eligibility for Federal small 

business assistance programs, SBA 

establishes small business size 

definitions (referred to as size 

standards) for private sector industries 

in the United States. SBA’s existing size 

standards use two primary measures of 

business size—average annual receipts 

and number of employees. Financial 

assets, electric output and refining 

capacity are used as size measures for a 

few specialized industries. In addition, 

SBA’s Small Business Investment 

Company (SBIC), 7(a), and Certified 

Development Company (CDC or 504) 

Loan Programs determine small 

business eligibility using either the 

industry based size standards or 

alternative tangible net worth and net 

income based size standards. At the 

start of the current comprehensive 

review of SBA’s small business size 

standards, there were 41 different size 

standards levels, covering 1,141 NAICS 

industries and 18 sub-industry activities 

(i.e., ‘‘exceptions’’ in SBA’s Table of 

Size Standards). Of these, 31 were based 

on average annual receipts, seven based 

on number of employees, and three 

based on other measures. Presently, 

there are a total of 1,047 size standards, 

533 of which are based on average 

annual receipts, 499 on number of 

employees, 10 on megawatt hours, and 

five on average assets. 

Over the years, SBA has received 

comments that its size standards have 

not kept up with changes in the 

economy, in particular the changes in 

the Federal contracting marketplace and 

industry structure. SBA last conducted 

a comprehensive review of size 

standards during the late 1970s and 

early 1980s. Since then, most reviews of 

size standards have been limited to a 

few specific industries in response to 

requests from the public and Federal 

agencies. SBA also makes periodic 

inflation adjustments to its monetary 

based size standards. The latest inflation 

adjustment to size standards was 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 18, 2008 (73 FR 41237). 

SBA recognizes that changes in 

industry structure and Federal 

marketplace since the last overall 

review have rendered existing size 

standards for some industries no longer 

supported by current data. Accordingly, 

in 2007, SBA began a comprehensive 

review of its size standards to determine 

whether existing size standards have 

supportable bases relative to the current 

data, and to revise them, where 

necessary. 

In addition, on September 27, 2010, 

the President of the United States signed 

the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 

(Jobs Act). The Jobs Act directs SBA to 

conduct a detailed review of all size 

standards and to make appropriate 

adjustments to reflect market 

conditions. Specifically, the Jobs Act 

requires SBA to review at least one-third 

of all size standards during every 18- 

month period from the date of its 

enactment and review all size standards 

not less frequently than once every 5 

years thereafter. Reviewing existing 

small business size standards and 

making appropriate adjustments based 

on current data is also consistent with 

Executive Order 13563 on improving 

regulation and regulatory review. 

SBA has chosen not to review all size 

standards at one time. Rather, it is 

reviewing the size standards for groups 

of related industries on a Sector by 

Sector basis. 

As part of SBA’s comprehensive 

review of size standards, the Agency 

reviewed all electric power generation, 

transmission and distribution industries 

with electric output (megawatt hours) 

based size standards and three 

industries with receipts based size 

standards in NAICS Sector 22, Utilities, 

to determine whether the existing size 

standards should be retained or revised. 

On July 19, 2012, SBA published a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register 

(77 FR 42441) seeking public comments 

on its proposal to revise the size 

standards for nine industries. In that 

rule, SBA did not review one industry, 

namely NAICS 221210, Natural Gas 

Distribution, with an employee based 

size standard which SBA will review at 

a later date together with other 

employee based size standards. The 

proposed rule was one of a series of 

rules that examines industries grouped 

by NAICS Sector. 

In conjunction with the 

comprehensive size standards review, 

SBA developed a ‘‘Size Standards 

Methodology’’ for developing, 

reviewing, and modifying size 

standards, when necessary. SBA has 

published the document on its Web site 

at www.sba.gov/size for public review 

and comment and also included it as a 

supporting document in the electronic 

docket of the July 19, 2012 proposed 

rule at www.regulations.gov. 

In evaluating an industry’s size 

standard, SBA examines its 

characteristics (such as average firm 

size, startup costs and entry barriers, 

industry competition and distribution of 

firms by size), and the level and small 

business share of Federal contract 

dollars in that industry. SBA also 

examines the potential impact a size 

standard revision might have on its 

financial assistance programs and 

whether a business concern under a 

revised size standard would be 

dominant in its industry. 

To develop the proposed rule, SBA 

analyzed the characteristics of each 

industry in NAICS Sector 22 that has 

either a megawatt hour or a receipts 

based size standard, mostly using a 

special tabulation obtained from the 

U.S. Bureau of the Census based on its 

2007 Economic Census (the latest 

available) (www.census.gov/econ/ 

census07/). To evaluate the structure of 

the electric power generation, 

transmission, and distribution 


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industries, SBA also analyzed electric 

output data for investor-owned utilities 

and power marketers for 1974–2009, 

which it obtained from the U.S. Energy 

Information Agency (http:// 

www.eia.gov/electricity/data/detaildata.html). 

To evaluate Federal market 

conditions, SBA used Federal 

Procurement Data System—Next 

Generation (FPDS–NG) data for fiscal 

years 2008 to 2010 (https:// 

www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/) to evaluate 

the small business share of Federal 

contracts in each industry. 

To evaluate the impact of changes to 

size standards on its loan programs, 

SBA analyzed internal data on its 7(a) 

and 504 Loan Programs for fiscal years 

2008 to 2010. 

SBA’s ‘‘Size Standards Methodology’’ 

provides a detailed description of its 

analyses of various industry and 

program factors and data sources, and 

how the Agency uses the results to 

derive size standards. In the proposed 

rule, SBA detailed how it applied its 

‘‘Size Standards Methodology’’ to 

review and modify, where necessary, 

the existing electric output based size 

standards for electric power generation, 

transmission and distribution industries 

and receipts based size standards for 

three industries in NAICS Sector 22. 

SBA sought comments from the public 

on a number of issues concerning its 

‘‘Size Standards Methodology,’’ such as 

whether there are alternative 

methodologies that SBA should 

consider; whether there are alternative 

or additional factors or data sources that 

SBA should evaluate; whether SBA’s 

approach to establishing small business 

size standards makes sense in the 

current economic environment; whether 

SBA’s applications of anchor size 

standards are appropriate in the current 

economy; whether there are gaps in 

SBA’s methodology because of the lack 

of comprehensive data; and whether 

there are other facts or issues that SBA 

should consider. 

SBA sought comments on its proposal 

to change an electric output based size 

standard of 4 million megawatt hours 

for electric power generation, 

transmission and distribution to an 

employee based size standard of 500 

employees and to increase receipts 

based size standards for three industries 

in NAICS Sector 22. SBA also invited 

comments on its proposal to remove 

Footnote 1 from its table of size 

standards. Specifically, SBA requested 

comments on whether the size 

standards for those industries should be 

revised as proposed and sought 

feedback and suggestions on alternative 

size standards if the proposed size 

standards were not appropriate. SBA 

also invited comments on whether its 

proposed eight fixed levels for receipts 

based size standard levels are 

appropriate, and whether it should 

adopt a common size standard for all 

industries involved in electric power 

generation, transmission, and 

distribution. 

Summary of Comments 

SBA received eight comments from 

individual businesses, trade 

associations, and non-profit electric 

cooperatives both in support of and in 

opposition to its proposed size standard 

changes in NAICS Sector 22. All eight 

comments focused on SBA’s proposal to 

change the size standard for electric 

power generation, transmission, and 

distribution industries from 4 million 

megawatt hours to 500 employees and 

to remove Footnote 1 from the size 

standards table. There were no 

comments concerning the three 

proposed increases to receipts based 

size standards. These comments are 

summarized below. 

The first commenter did not support 

any of the proposed increases in the size 

standards in NAICS Sector 22. The 

commenter interpreted the SBA’s 

proposal to change the size standard for 

electric power generation, transmission, 

and distribution industries from 4 

million megawatt hours to 500 

employees as an increase. The 

commenter stated that at that level a 

business is no longer considered small 

and that it does not support the intent 

of small business programs. He further 

noted that with the increases in size 

standards, the banks will focus more on 

larger loans by ignoring small 

businesses the SBA’s loan program is 

intended to help. The commenter, 

however, did not include any data or 

analysis to support his argument that 

this would be an increase to the size 

standard. In addition, under the tangible 

net worth and net income based 

alternative size standard implemented 

for SBA’s 7(a) and 504 Loan Programs 

implemented under the Jobs Act, 

businesses much larger than the 

industry based size standards may now 

qualify for SBA’s loans. Accordingly, 

SBA has not adjusted the proposed size 

standards changes based on this 

comment. 

The next commenter also did not 

support the proposed 500-employee size 

standard. The commenter argued that it 

is difficult to cover employee benefits 

and costs for small businesses with 

fewer than 50 employees and that it 

would be much more difficult at 500 

employees. He noted that at 500 

employees a firm is a large business in 

the construction industry. The 

commenter did not provide any 

industry data or analysis supporting his 

or her argument. Moreover, the 

comment was directed to the size of a 

business in the construction industry, 

not for industries in NAICS Sector 22. 

Thus, SBA did not consider this 

comment in finalizing the proposed size 

standards in NAICS Sector 22. 

The third comment was on behalf of 

a non-profit trade association 

representing the non-profit, publicly 

owned electric utilities in the U.S. 

While the association supported SBA’s 

effort to account for changes in the 

electric power industry, it opposed its 

proposal to change the size standard for 

electric power generation, transmission 

and distribution utilities from the 4 

million megawatt hours (MWh) to 500 

employees. Among the three proposals 

SBA considered in the proposed rule, 

the association preferred the proposal to 

increase the size standard from 4 

million megawatt hours to 8 million 

megawatt hours and retain Footnote 1 in 

the table of size standards. It also 

supported the proposed revisions to 

Footnote 1 and stated that the revised 

footnote removes the ambiguity about 

affiliates in determining the firm’s 

primary industry and size and is 

sufficient for maintaining a MWh-based 

size standard for the electric power 

industry. The association noted further 

that it would support an employee 

based size standard rather than the 

hybrid option of adding an employee 

based size standard to the MhW-based 

size standard as, it stated, it would add 

unnecessary complexity in measuring 

firm size for electric utilities. 

The association contended that the 

MWh-based measure is clear and 

unambiguous and widely used 

throughout the industry and by other 

Federal agencies that regulate the 

electric power industry. It added that 

electric output is less impacted by 

regional variation and market structure 

and that electric production data are 

readily available from the EIA for SBA 

to assess the appropriateness of the size 

standard for the electric industry. The 

association argued that an employeebased size standard would cause 

confusion, particularly for its members, 

and be very difficult to apply it to 

publicly owned utilities. Specifically, 

the association expressed concerns that 

in situations where the electric utility is 

a unit of the municipal government, and 

is overseen either by a city council or 

an independent utility board, all city 

employees would be counted towards 

the employee based size standard, even 

if they are not all involved in the 

provision of electric services. The 


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association added that counting the 

number of employees involved in 

electric services would be equally 

difficult in instances where the city 

operates multiple utilities (such as 

electricity, water, gas, sewer, etc.) and 

where various agencies and departments 

are involved in one combined utility. It 

argued that if SBA decides to adopt the 

employee based size standard, only the 

employees (or only the portion of time 

allotted to the electric department when 

an employee is associated with multiple 

utilities) involved in the generation, 

transmission and distribution should be 

counted towards the employee 

threshold for publicly owned utilities. It 

also suggested that SBA should provide 

clear guidance on counting employees 

for publicly owned electric providers 

and firms engaged in multiple 

industries to determine whether or not 

they are a small business under the 

employee based size standard. 

SBA agrees that electric output is the 

commonly used measure of business 

size in the electric industry and is aware 

that it is used by several Federal 

agencies for their regulatory purposes. 

SBA believes that Federal agencies use 

electric output mainly because many of 

them use SBA’s electric output based 

size standard for their programs. During 

both the interagency review of the 

proposed rule and the public comment 

period, SBA did not receive any 

comments from Federal agencies against 

SBA’s proposal to change the size 

standard for electric utilities from 

megawatt hours to the number of 

employees. SBA is very familiar with 

electric production data from EIA, 

which the Agency used to evaluate the 

structure of the industry in the current 

and previous reviews of these size 

standards. There are, however, two 

problems of using electric output as the 

size measure. First, as explained in the 

proposed rule, in situations where firms 

are engaged in electric power 

generation, transmission and/or 

distribution and in other industries as 

well, electric output cannot account for 

their total size. Similarly, in instances 

where a company is in the electric 

power generation, transmission, and/or 

distribution industry and is affiliated 

with another entity in a different 

industry, electric output will fail to 

account accurately for their aggregate 

size. Second, under an electric output 

based size standard, without Footnote 1, 

a large firm with very limited 

involvement in electric power 

generation, transmission, and/or 

distribution can qualify as small. 

However, requiring that a firm’s primary 

industry be electric power generation, 

transmission, and/or distribution for it 

to qualify as small under the electric 

output size standard, disqualifies many 

firms that are engaged in electric power 

generation, transmission, and/or 

distribution and other industries, when 

electric power is not their primary 

industry. This is especially true among 

firms involved in electric power 

generation using renewable sources 

(such as solar, wind, biomass, 

geothermal) as well as other industries, 

where power generation is generally not 

their primary industry. Preventing them 

from Federal small business assistance 

simply because power generation is not 

their primary activity is counter to the 

Administration’s programs and policies 

to promote renewable energy 

production in the country. For these 

reasons, SBA is adopting the employee 

based size standard for all electric 

power generation, transmission and 

distribution industries. 

SBA does not agree with the 

association’s suggestion that SBA 

should allow to count only the 

employees (or only the portion of time 

allotted to the electric department when 

an employee is associated with multiple 

utilities) involved in the generation, 

transmission and distribution towards 

the employee threshold for publicly 

owned utilities. In determining number 

of employees for size standards 

purposes, SBA counts a concern’s total 

employees from all industries, not just 

the number of employees for each 

industry separately. This is true for all 

industries that currently have an 

employee based size standard and will 

also apply to electric power generation, 

transmission and distribution 

industries. SBA provides detailed 

guidance to determine the number of 

employees in 13 CFR 121.106. 

It also appears that the association is 

not aware that a business concern has to 

be operated for profit to qualify as small 

under the SBA’s size regulations (see 13 

CFR 121.105). Accordingly, because 

publicly owned utilities are not-forprofit entities, they will not qualify as 

small, even if they meet the SBA’s size 

threshold. 

The next commenter applauded 

SBA’s proposal to remove Footnote 1 

and use a common 500-employee size 

standard for the electric production and 

distribution industries. He stated that 

the 500-employee size standard is 

appropriate for the renewable industries 

as they have a wide range of companies, 

from very large companies to singleperson entities. The commenter 

questioned why SBA did not adopt the 

proposed size standards for the new 

NAICS codes for renewable energy 

industries created under NAICS 2012 

when the Agency adopted them, 

although the changes to NAICS codes 

were made prior to that date. SBA did 

not do so because when SBA published 

the proposed rule on July 19, 2012, its 

size standards were based on NAICS 

2007; and when SBA published the 

interim final rule to adopt NAICS 2012 

on August 20, 2012 (effective October 1, 

2012), the proposed rule was still open 

for comments and not finalized. SBA 

was, therefore, unable to adopt the 

proposed size standard for new NAICS 

codes for renewable energy effective 

October 1, 2012. 

The next comment was from a 

national association representing nonprofit rural electric cooperatives. The 

association supported the SBA’s 

proposal to change the electric utility 

size standard from 4 million MWh to 

500 employees for electric power 

generation and transmission industries, 

but it did not support applying the same 

500-employee size standard to NAICS 

221122, Electric Power Distribution. 

The commenter highlighted that the 

electric power industry has changed 

dramatically since 1974, when SBA first 

established a size standard for the 

industry. The electric power generation, 

transmission, and distribution 

industries, while functionally 

integrated, have evolved into standalone industries, each with a unique 

production function. While electric 

distribution and generation industries 

are both very capital intensive, 

distribution is much more labor 

intensive than the generation industry. 

This is because, the association 

explained, distribution utilities not only 

build and maintain electric distribution 

lines and the associated easements; they 

also read meters, process billing/

payments, interact with customers, and 

provide many customer service 

functions. Thus, it concluded that 

applying a common size standard across 

all industries of the utility sector will 

not adequately control for the unique 

characteristics of each industry. 

Based on its analysis of the electric 

output data for distribution utilities 

from EIA combined with revenues and 

employment data for firms in NAICS 

221122, Electric Power Distribution, 

from the 2007 Economic Census, the 

association recommended a 1,000- 

employee size standard for electric 

distribution. Additionally, the 

association brought to SBA’s attention 

that one of its member cooperatives, 

which currently distributes less than 4 

million MWh annually and has more 

than 500 employees, will lose its small 

utility designation under the 500- 

employee size standard. 


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SBA agrees with the association’s 

comments and analysis that the electric 

power for size standards purposes the 

distribution industry need to be 

analyzed on its own rather than 

combining it with generation and 

transmission industries. As discussed 

elsewhere in this rule, SBA analyzed the 

2007 Economic Census data for this 

industry using its size standards 

methodology to evaluate employee 

based size standards. The results of this 

analysis supported a 1,000-employee 

size standard for NAICS 221122, as 

recommended by the association. 

The next commenter applauded 

SBA’s effort to update the size standards 

for NAICS Sector 22 and agreed with its 

proposal to change the size standard for 

electric industries from megawatts 

hours to number of employees. He also 

agreed with the removal of Footnote 1. 

However, the commenter expressed 

concerns about SBA’s proposal to apply 

the same size 500-employee size 

standard to renewable energy industries 

that it proposed for other electric power 

generation, transmission and 

distribution industries. The commenter 

stated that SBA’s proposal violates the 

requirement that the size standard vary 

from industry to industry to reflect 

differing characteristics of the various 

industries. He added that the proposed 

size standard will incorrectly enable 

large renewable energy companies to 

qualify as small, thereby compromising 

the intent of SBA’s mission to help 

small businesses. 

The commenter recommended that 

SBA reevaluate NAICS 221119 

separately using data only for renewable 

energy industries (such as solar, wind, 

etc.) rather than combining it with other 

power generation (such as nuclear, 

hydroelectric, and fossil fuel), 

transmission, and distribution 

industries. He added that renewable 

energy industries are comprised of 

many smaller companies with much 

smaller capital requirements compared 

to hydroelectric, nuclear and fossil fuel 

power generation industries. Arguing 

that NAICS 221119 cannot be likened to 

manufacturing as other electric power 

generation industries, the commenter 

opposed applying the 500-employee 

manufacturing anchor size standard for 

renewable energy industries. He argued 

that a receipts based size standard 

would be more appropriate for 

renewable energy industries because 

solar and wind energy systems generally 

involve assembly and installations of 

component parts and are more akin to 

NAICS 237130 (Power and 

Communication Line and Related 

Structures Construction) with a receipts 

based size standard. However, the 

commenter did not specify the value for 

the receipts based size standard to use 

nor did he provide specific industry 

data showing the similarities between 

NAICS 221119 and NAICS 237130 to 

justify the same receipts based size 

standard for both industries. In response 

to the comment, SBA has reevaluated 

NAICS 221119 only using the data for 

that industry from the 2007 Economic 

Census. 

The same commenter also provided 

some data on industry and contracting 

factors for NAICS 221119, mostly 

pertaining to solar firms, in support of 

a receipts based size standard without 

suggesting a specific value for such a 

size standard. He opposed the proposed 

500-employee size standard, because, as 

he claimed, it would classify very large 

renewable energy companies as small 

businesses. However, the commenter 

did not indicate if a smaller employee 

based size standard would be more 

appropriate, but he did not argue against 

using number of employees. 

The next comment was from a solar 

industry association concerning the 

proposed size standard for NAICS 

221119, Other Electric Power 

Generation. The association supported 

the SBA’s proposal to change the 

current MWh-based size standard to an 

employee based or revenue based size 

standard. It stated that many companies 

in the solar industry sell power through 

power purchase agreements (PPA) and it 

might be difficult for them to accurately 

assess the total electric output for their 

fleet. In addition, it also supported the 

proposed elimination of Footnote 1. It 

added the requirement that a firm must 

be ‘‘primarily engaged’’ in the 

generation, transmission and/or 

distribution of electric energy for sale to 

be small might unfairly exclude solar 

companies that sell systems under PPA 

or lease. 

However, like the previous 

commenter, the association expressed 

concerns about SBA’s proposal to apply 

the same size 500-employee size 

standard to NAICS 221119 that it 

proposed for other electric power 

generation, transmission and 

distribution industries. It argued that 

renewable industries (solar, wind, etc.) 

are very different from the traditional 

hydroelectric, fossil fuel and nuclear 

power generation industries. The 

association added that while these 

traditional industries are multi-billion 

dollar industries with highly centralized 

facilities, renewable industries in 

NAICS 221119 are made of up many 

small and widely disbursed facilities. 

As the previous commenter, it also 

recommended that SBA reevaluate 

NAICS 221119 as a separate industry 

and not apply the same size standard 

proposed for traditional power 

generation industries. SBA agrees, and 

the industry data seem to support, the 

renewable energy industry is distinct 

from traditional electric utilities and it 

should be analyzed separately. The 

association argued that there exist 

similarities between the construction 

trade industry and the solar industry in 

determining the size of a business, but 

did not provide any data supporting its 

argument. 

The last commenter representing the 

solar industry commented on the 

proposed size standard for NAICS 

221119. The commenter opposed the 

employee-based size standard in 

support of the current megawatt based 

size standard. He also supported 

revising Footnote 1 by broadening the 

‘‘primarily engaged’’ requirement and 

clarifying the size determination 

method rather than changing the size 

standard. The commenter contended the 

proposed employee based size standard 

for power generation, including NAICS 

221119, would drastically increase the 

number of firms that would qualify as 

small, many of which would not 

necessarily be experienced or capable of 

power generation. This would, as the 

commenter argued, cause small 

businesses currently engaged in power 

generation to lose work to other firms 

not currently engaged in power 

generation and increase the risk of nonperformance. However, he did not 

provide any explanation or data to 

support these arguments. 

To increase small business 

participation, this commenter 

recommended revising Footnote 1 by 

replacing the requirement that a firm be 

‘‘primarily engaged’’ in power 

generation with the requirement that the 

firm obtain at least 40 percent of 

revenue from power generation. SBA 

does not accept this recommendation 

for two reasons. First, the commenter 

did not provide any analytical basis for 

choosing the 40 percent figure; it seems 

arbitrary. Second, the 40 percent 

revenue requirement will still exclude 

many firms that are involved in power 

generation as well as other industries, 

where power generation revenue 

accounts for less than 40 percent of the 

firm’s total revenue. This is especially 

true in the case of renewable energy 

industries. Thus, for the reasons as 

explained in the proposed rule and 

elsewhere in this final rule, SBA is 

adopting an employee based size 

standard for all electric power 

generation, transmission and 

distribution industries and removing 

Footnote 1. 


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In response to the above comments, 

particularly the comments that the 

electric power distribution industry is 

different from the electric power 

generation industries and that the 

renewable energy industry (NAICS 

221119) is different from the traditional 

electric power generation, transmission 

and distribution industries, SBA 

reanalyzed each of these industries 

separately. For this, SBA analyzed the 

2007 Economic Census data for electric 

power generation, transmission and 

distribution data using its size standards 

methodology for employee based size 

standards to calculate industry factors 

and employee based size standards for 

each of those industries. The size 

standards derived from this analysis are 

summarized in Table 1, Employee Based 

size Standards for Electric Utilities 

Industries, below. 

TABLE 1—EMPLOYEE BASED SIZE STANDARDS FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES INDUSTRIES

NAICS code U.S. industry title 

Size standard 

(number of 

employees) 

221111 ............................... Hydroelectric Power Generation ..................................................................................................... 500 

221112 ............................... Fossil Fuel Power Generation ........................................................................................................ 750 

221113 ............................... Nuclear Power Generation .............................................................................................................. 750 

221119 ............................... Other Electric Power Generation .................................................................................................... 250 

221121 ............................... Electric Bulk Power Transmission and Control .............................................................................. 500 

221122 ............................... Electric Power Distribution .............................................................................................................. 1,000 

When SBA published the proposed 

rule on NAICS Sector 22, the SBA’s 

table of size standards was based on 

NAICS 2007. In the NAICS 2012 

updates, considering the recent growth 

of renewable power in the electric 

generation industries, the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

replaced NAICS 221119 (Other Electric 

Power Generation) with five new 

industries: namely NAICS 221114 (Solar 

Electric Power Generation), NAICS 

221115 (Wind Electric Power 

Generation), NAICS 221116 (Geothermal 

Electric Power Generation), NAICS 

221117 (Biomass Electric Power 

Generation), and NAICS 221118 (Other 

Electric Power Generation). OMB 

implemented NAICS 2012 beginning 

January 1, 2012 and SBA adopted it for 

its table of size standards beginning 

October 1, 2012. 

Although OMB required all Federal 

statistical agencies to use 2012 NAICS 

effective January 1, 2012, data using the 

new classification are still not available. 

The 2012 Economic Census data 

collection is currently underway. SBA 

will be able to evaluate each renewable 

industry separately once it receives 

special tabulations from the 2012 

Economic Census. 

The 2007 Economic Census, which is 

the primary source of industry data for 

the current comprehensive size 

standards review, does not include data 

for each of these newly created industry 

codes under NAICS 2012; they are all 

combined into NAICS 221119 under 

NAICS 2007. Thus, given the lack of 

data, SBA has decided to apply the 

result for NAICS 221119 to each of those 

new NAICS codes. Additionally, SBA 

evaluated simple and weighted average 

number of employees and the Gini 

coefficient using the 2012 first quarter 

Quarterly Census of Employment and 

Wages (QCEW) data from the Bureau of 

Analysis for new NAICS codes 221114, 

221115, 221116, 221117. These results 

also supported the same 250-employee 

size standard for each of these 

industries that SBA obtained for NAICS 

221119 using the 2007 Economic 

Census data. Accordingly, SBA is 

adopting 250 employees as the size 

standard for NAICS 221114 to 221118. 

The commenters opposing the 

application of the 500-employe size 

standard for NAICS 221119 suggested a 

revenue based size standard for that 

industry. However, in view of rapid 

growth and increased completion and 

their potential impacts on costs and in 

turn on revenues in renewable energy 

industries, SBA believes that the 

number of employees is a better 

measure of business size for firms in 

those industries. Moreover, the 

employee measure has the same 

advantages as the revenue measure over 

the MWh measure. Thus, SBA is 

adopting the employee based size 

standards for NAICS 221114 to 221118. 

Since there were no comments against 

proposed increases to three receipts 

based size standards in NAICS Sector 

22, SBA is adopting the increases as 

proposed. 

All comments to the proposed rule are 

available for public review at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Conclusion 

Based on SBA’s analyses of relevant 

industry and program data and the 

public comments it received on the 

proposed rule, SBA is changing the 

small business size standards for 10 

industries in electric power generation, 

transmission, and distribution from 

megawatt hours to number of employees 

and increasing the receipts based size 

standards for three industries in North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS) Sector 22, Utilities. In 

addition, SBA is removing Footnote # 1 

from SBA’s Table of Size Standards that 

applied to all of the NAICS codes in 

electric power generation, transmission 

and distribution. Those industries and 

their proposed and adopted size 

standards are shown in Table 2, 

Summary of Proposed and Adopted Size 

Standard Revisions in NAICS Sector 22, 

below. 

TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF PROPOSED AND ADOPTED SIZE STANDARD REVISIONS IN NAICS SECTOR 22 

NAICS 

code U.S. industry title Current size standards (NAICS 2012) 

Proposed size 

standards 

(NAICS 2007) 

Adopted size 

standards 

(NAICS 2012) 

221111 ........ Hydroelectric Power Generation .................................. 4 million megawatt hours .......... 500 employees ... 500 employees. 

221112 ........ Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation ........................ 4 million megawatt hours .......... 500 employees ... 750 employees. 

221113 ........ Nuclear Electric Power Generation ............................. 4 million megawatt hours .......... 500 employees ... 750 employees. 

221119 ........ Other Electric Power Generation ................................. .................................................... 500 employees ...

221114 ........ Solar Electric Power Generation ................................. 4 million megawatt hours .......... ............................. 250 employees. 


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TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF PROPOSED AND ADOPTED SIZE STANDARD REVISIONS IN NAICS SECTOR 22—Continued 

NAICS 

code U.S. industry title Current size standards (NAICS 2012) 

Proposed size 

standards 

(NAICS 2007) 

Adopted size 

standards 

(NAICS 2012) 

221115 ........ Wind Electric Power Generation .................................. 4 million megawatt hours .......... ............................. 250 employees. 

221116 ........ Geothermal Electric Power Generation ....................... 4 million megawatt hours .......... ............................. 250 employees. 

221117 ........ Biomass Electric Power Generation ............................ 4 million megawatt hours .......... ............................. 250 employees. 

221118 ........ Other Electric Power Generation ................................. 4 million megawatt hours .......... ............................. 250 employees. 

221121 ........ Electric Bulk Power Transmission and Control ........... 4 million megawatt hours .......... 500 employees ... 500 employees. 

221122 ........ Electric Power Distribution ........................................... 4 million megawatt hours .......... 500 employees ... 1,000 employees. 

221310 ........ Water Supply and Irrigation Systems .......................... $7.0 million ................................ $25.5 million ....... $25.5 million. 

221320 ........ Sewage Treatment Facilities ....................................... $7.0 million ................................ $19.0 million ....... $19.0 million. 

221330 ........ Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply ............................ $12.5 million .............................. $14.0 million ....... $14.0 million. 

SBA did not review the 500-employee 

size standard for Natural Gas 

Distribution, NAICS Code 221210. SBA 

will retain that size standard until the 

Agency reviews it with other employee 

based size standards. 

Compliance With Executive Orders 

12866, 13563, 12988 and 13132, the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

Ch. 35) and the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612) 

Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has determined that this final 

rule is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ for purposes of Executive Order 

12866. To help explain the need of this 

rule and the rule’s potential benefits and 

costs, SBA is providing below a Cost 

Benefit Analysis. This is also not a 

‘‘major’’ rule, under the Congressional 

Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801, et seq. 

Cost Benefit Analysis 

1. Is there a need for the regulatory 

action? 

SBA believes that the revised size 

standards for a number of industries in 

NAICS Sector 22, Utilities, will better 

reflect the economic characteristics of 

small businesses and the Federal 

government marketplace in those 

industries. SBA’s mission is to aid and 

assist small businesses through a variety 

of financial, procurement, business 

development and advocacy programs. 

To assist the intended beneficiaries of 

these programs, SBA must establish 

distinct definitions of which businesses 

are deemed small businesses. The Small 

Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)) 

delegates to SBA’s Administrator the 

responsibility for establishing small 

business definitions. The Act also 

requires that small business definitions 

vary to reflect industry differences. The 

recently enacted Small Business Jobs 

Act also requires SBA to review all size 

standards and make necessary 

adjustments to reflect market 

conditions. The supplementary 

information sections of the proposed 

rule and this final rule explains SBA’s 

methodology for analyzing a size 

standard for a particular industry. 

2. What are the potential benefits and 

costs of this regulatory action? 

The most significant benefit to 

businesses obtaining small business 

status because of this rule is gaining 

eligibility for Federal small business 

assistance programs. These include 

SBA’s financial assistance programs, 

economic injury disaster loans, and 

Federal procurement programs intended 

for small businesses. Federal 

procurement programs provide targeted 

opportunities for small businesses 

under SBA’s business development 

programs, such as 8(a), Small 

Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), small 

businesses located in Historically 

Underutilized Business Zones 

(HUBZones), women-owned small 

businesses (WOSB), and servicedisabled veteran-owned small business 

concerns (SDVO SBC). Federal agencies 

may also use SBA size standards for a 

variety of other regulatory and program 

purposes. These programs assist small 

businesses to become more 

knowledgeable, stable, and competitive. 

In the 10 industries for which SBA is 

changing the size standard from MWh to 

number of employees, SBA estimates 

that about 300 additional firms will 

obtain small business status and become 

eligible for these programs. Similarly, in 

the three industries for which SBA is 

increasing the receipts based size 

standard, about 100 firms, not small in 

the current size standard, will gain 

small business status. That represents 

approximately 8 percent of the total 

number of firms that are classified as 

small under the current standards in all 

industries within NAICS Sector 22 that 

are covered in this final rule. This will 

increase the small business share of 

total industry receipts from 

approximately 7 percent under the 

current size standards to 17 percent. 

SBA estimates that firms gaining 

small business status under the revised 

size standards could receive Federal 

contracts totaling $25 million to $30 

million annually under SBA’s small 

business Programs. 

Three groups will benefit from the 

revised size standards: (1) Some 

businesses that are above the current 

size standards will gain small business 

status under the revised size standards, 

thereby enabling them to participate in 

Federal small business assistance 

programs; (2) growing small businesses 

that are close to exceeding the current 

size standards will be able to retain their 

small business status under the revised 

size standards, thereby enabling them to 

continue their participation in the 

programs; and (3) Federal agencies will 

have a larger pool of small businesses 

from which to draw for their small 

business procurement programs. 

Under SBA’s 7(a) Business and 504 

Loan Programs, based on the fiscal years 

2008 to 2010 data, SBA estimates that 

around 10 to 12 additional loans 

totaling about $2 million to $3 million 

in Federal loan guarantees could be 

made to these newly defined small 

businesses under the proposed size 

standards. Increasing the size standards 

will likely result in an increase in small 

business guaranteed loans to businesses 

in these industries, but it would be 

impractical to try to estimate exactly the 

extent of their number and total amount 

loaned. Under the Jobs Act, SBA can 

now guarantee substantially larger loans 

than in the past. In addition, the Jobs 

Act established an alternative size 

standard ($15 million in tangible net 

worth and $5 million in net income 

after income taxes) for business 

concerns that do not meet the size 

standards for their industry. Therefore, 

SBA finds it similarly difficult to 

quantify the impact of these proposed 

standards on its 7(a) and 504 Loan 

Programs. 

Newly defined small businesses will 

also benefit from SBA’s Economic Injury 

Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program. However, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 77349 

since the benefit under this program is 

contingent on the occurrence and 

severity of a disaster, SBA cannot make 

a meaningful estimate of benefits for 

future disasters. 

To the extent that those 400 newly 

defined additional small firms could 

become active in Federal procurement 

programs under the revised size 

standards, may entail some additional 

administrative costs to the Federal 

Government associated with additional 

bidders for Federal small business 

procurement opportunities. In addition, 

there could be more firms seeking SBA 

guaranteed loans, more firms eligible for 

registration in the System of Award 

Management (SAM) Dynamic Small 

Business Search database and more 

firms seeking certification as 8(a) or 

HUBZone firms or those qualifying for 

small business, WOSB, SDVO SBC, and 

SDB status. Among those newly defined 

small businesses seeking SBA 

assistance, there could be some 

additional costs associated with 

compliance and verification of small 

business status and protests of small 

business status. These added costs will 

be minimal because mechanisms are 

already in place to handle these 

administrative requirements. 

Additionally, the costs to the Federal 

Government may be higher on some 

Federal contracts. With a greater 

number of businesses defined as small, 

Federal agencies may choose to set aside 

more contracts for competition among 

small businesses rather than using full 

and open competition. The movement 

from unrestricted to small business setaside contracting might result in 

competition among fewer total bidders, 

although there will be more small 

businesses eligible to submit offers. 

However, the additional costs associated 

with fewer bidders, however, are 

expected to be minor since, as a matter 

of law, procurements may be set aside 

for small businesses or reserved for the 

8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, or SDVO SBC 

Programs only if awards are expected to 

be made at fair and reasonable prices. In 

addition, higher costs may result if more 

full and open contracts are awarded to 

HUBZone businesses that receive price 

evaluation preferences. 

The revised size standards may have 

some distributional effects among large 

and small businesses. Although SBA 

cannot estimate with certainty the 

actual outcome of the gains and losses 

among small and large businesses, it can 

identify several probable impacts. There 

may be a transfer of some Federal 

contracts to small businesses from large 

businesses. Large businesses may have 

fewer Federal contract opportunities as 

Federal agencies decide to set aside 

more Federal contracts for small 

businesses. In addition, some Federal 

contracts may be awarded to HUBZone 

firms instead of large businesses since 

these firms may be eligible for a price 

evaluation preference for contracts 

when they compete on a full and open 

basis. Similarly, currently defined small 

businesses may obtain fewer Federal 

contracts due to the increased 

competition from more businesses 

defined as small. This transfer may be 

offset by a greater number of Federal 

procurements set aside for all small 

businesses. The number of newly 

defined and expanding small businesses 

that are willing and able to sell to the 

Federal Government will limit the 

potential transfer of contracts away from 

large and currently defined small 

businesses. SBA cannot estimate the 

potential distributional impacts of these 

transfers with any degree of precision. 

The revisions to the existing size 

standards for NAICS Sector 22, Utilities, 

are consistent with SBA’s statutory 

mandate to assist small business. This 

regulatory action promotes the 

Administration’s objectives. One of 

SBA’s goals in support of the 

Administration’s objectives is to help 

individual small businesses succeed 

through fair and equitable access to 

capital and credit, Government 

contracts, and management and 

technical assistance. Reviewing and 

modifying size standards, when 

appropriate, ensures that intended 

beneficiaries have access to the small 

business programs designed to assist 

them. 

Executive Order 13563 

A description of the need for this 

regulatory action and benefits and costs 

associated with this action including 

possible distributional impacts that 

relate to Executive Order 13563 are 

included above in the Cost Benefit 

Analysis. 

In an effort to engage interested 

parties in this action, SBA has presented 

its size standards methodology 

(discussed above under Supplementary 

Information) to various industry 

associations and trade groups. SBA also 

met with various industry groups 

(including energy) to get their feedback 

on its methodology and other size 

standards issues. In addition, SBA 

presented its size standards 

methodology to businesses in 13 cities 

in the U.S. and sought their input as 

part of the Jobs Act Tours. The 

presentation included information on 

the status of the comprehensive size 

standards review and on how interested 

parties can provide SBA with input and 

feedback on size standards review. 

Additionally, SBA sent letters to the 

Directors of the Offices of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU) at several Federal agencies 

with considerable procurement 

responsibilities requesting their 

feedback on how the agencies use SBA 

size standards and whether current 

standards meet their programmatic 

needs (both procurement and nonprocurement). SBA gave appropriate 

consideration to all input, suggestions, 

recommendations, and relevant 

information obtained from industry 

groups, individual businesses, and 

Federal agencies in preparing the 

proposed rule and this final rule. 

The review of size standards in 

NAICS Sector 22, Utilities, is consistent 

with Executive Order 13563, Section 6, 

calling for retrospective analyses of 

existing rules. As discussed previously, 

SBA’s last comprehensive review of size 

standards was during the late 1970s and 

early 1980s. Since then, except for 

periodic adjustments of monetary based 

size standards for inflation, most 

reviews were limited to a few specific 

industries in response to requests from 

the public and Federal agencies. SBA 

recognizes that changes in industry 

structure and the Federal marketplace 

over time have rendered existing size 

standards for some industries no longer 

supportable by current data. 

Accordingly, in 2007, SBA began a 

comprehensive review of its size 

standards to ensure that existing size 

standards have supportable bases and to 

revise them when necessary. In 

addition, on September 27, 2010, the 

President of the United States signed the 

Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Jobs 

Act). The Jobs Act directs SBA to 

conduct a detailed review of all size 

standards and to make appropriate 

adjustments to reflect market 

conditions. Specifically, the Jobs Act 

requires SBA to conduct a detailed 

review of at least one-third of all size 

standards during every 18-month period 

from the date of its enactment and do a 

complete review of all size standards 

not less frequently than once every 5 

years thereafter. 

Executive Order 12988 

This action meets applicable 

standards set forth in Sections 3(a) and 

3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice reforms, to minimize litigation, 

eliminate ambiguity, and reduce 

burden. The action does not have 

retroactive or preemptive effect. 

Executive Order 13132 

For the purposes of Executive Order 

13132, SBA has determined that this 

final rule will not have substantial, 


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77350 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

direct effect on the States, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Therefore, SBA 

has determined that this final rule has 

no federalism implications warranting 

preparation of a federalism assessment. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

For the purpose of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. Ch. 35, SBA 

has determined that this final rule will 

not impose new reporting or record 

keeping requirements. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(RFA), this final rule may have a 

significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities in NAICS 

Sector 22, Utilities. As described above, 

this rule may affect small entities 

seeking Federal contracts, loans under 

SBA’s 7(a), 504 and Economic Injury 

Disaster Loan Programs, and assistance 

under other Federal small business 

programs. 

Immediately below, SBA sets forth a 

final regulatory flexibility analysis of 

this final rule addressing the following 

questions: (1) What are the need for and 

objective of the rule? (2) What are SBA’s 

description and estimate of the number 

of small entities to which the rule will 

apply? (3) What are the projected 

reporting, record keeping and other 

compliance requirements of the rule? (4) 

What are the relevant Federal rules that 

may duplicate, overlap or conflict with 

the rule? and (5) What alternatives will 

allow the Agency to accomplish its 

regulatory objectives while minimizing 

the impact on small entities? 

1. What are the need for and objective 

of the rule? 

Most of the size standards in NAICS 

Sector 22, Utilities, have not been 

reviewed since the early 1980s. 

Technology, productivity growth, 

international competition, mergers and 

acquisitions, and updated industry 

definitions may have changed the 

structure of many industries in the 

Sector. Such changes can be sufficient 

to support a revision to size standards 

for some industries. Based on its 

analysis of the latest data available, SBA 

believes that the proposed size 

standards in this rule more 

appropriately reflect the size of 

businesses in those industries that need 

Federal assistance. The Small Business 

Jobs Act also requires SBA to review all 

size standards and make necessary 

adjustments to reflect market 

conditions. 

2. What are SBA’s description and 

estimate of the number of small entities 

to which the rule will apply? 

Under the revised size standards, SBA 

estimates that 400 additional firms will 

become small because of revisions to 

size standards in 13 industries. That 

represents about 8 percent of total firms 

that are small under current size 

standards in all industries within 

NAICS Sector 22 covered by this final 

rule. This will result in an increase in 

the small business share of total 

industry receipts for those industries 

from about 7 percent under the current 

size standards to about 17 percent under 

the revised size standards. Under the 

revised size standards, more small 

businesses will be able to retain their 

small business status for a longer 

period. Many have lost their eligibility 

and find it difficult to compete at such 

low levels with companies that are 

significantly larger than they are. SBA 

believes the competitive impact will be 

positive for existing small businesses 

and for those that exceed the current 

size standards but are on the very low 

end of those that are not small. They 

might otherwise be called or referred to 

as mid-sized businesses, although SBA 

only defines what is small; entities that 

are not small for any reason are ‘‘other 

than small.’’ 

3. What are the projected reporting, 

record keeping and other compliance 

requirements of the rule? 

The revised size standards changes do 

not impose any additional reporting or 

record keeping requirements on small 

entities. However, qualifying for Federal 

procurement and a number of other 

Federal programs requires that entities 

register in the System of Award 

Management (SAM) database and certify 

at least annually that they are small in 

SAM. Therefore, businesses opting to 

participate in those programs must 

comply with SAM requirements. There 

are no costs associated with SAM 

registration or certification. Changing 

size standards alters eligibility for SBA 

programs that assist small businesses, 

but does not impose a regulatory burden 

as they neither regulate nor control 

business behavior. 

4. What are the relevant Federal rules, 

which may duplicate, overlap or 

conflict with the rule? 

Under § 3(a)(2)(C) of the Small 

Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632(a)(2)(c), 

Federal agencies must use SBA’s size 

standards to define a small business, 

unless specifically authorized by statute 

to do otherwise. In 1995, SBA published 

in the Federal Register a list of statutory 

and regulatory size standards that 

identified the application of SBA’s size 

standards as well as other size standards 

used by Federal agencies (60 FR 57988 

(November 24, 1995)). SBA is not aware 

of any Federal rule that would duplicate 

or conflict with establishing size 

standards. 

However, the Small Business Act and 

SBA’s regulations allow Federal 

agencies to develop different size 

standards if they believe that SBA’s size 

standards are not appropriate for their 

programs, with the approval of SBA’s 

Administrator (13 CFR 121.903). 

Additionally, the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act authorizes an Agency to establish an 

alternative small business definition 

after consultation with the Office of 

Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business 

Administration (5 U.S.C. 601(3)). 

5. What alternatives will allow the 

Agency to accomplish its regulatory 

objectives while minimizing the impact 

on small entities? 

By law, SBA is required to develop 

numerical size standards for 

establishing eligibility for Federal small 

business assistance programs. Other 

than varying size standards by industry 

and changing the size measures, no 

practical alternative exists to the 

systems of numerical size standards. 

List of Subjects in 13 CFR Part 121 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Government procurement, 

Government property, Grant programs— 

business, Individuals with disabilities, 

Loan programs—business, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, Small 

businesses. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, SBA amends 13 CFR Part 121 

as follows: 

PART 121—SMALL BUSINESS SIZE 

REGULATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 121 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 632, 634(b)(6), 662, 

and 694a(9). 

■ 2. In § 121.201, in the table, revise the 

entries for ‘‘221111’’, ‘‘221112’’, 

‘‘221113’’, ‘‘221114’’ ‘‘221115’’, 

‘‘221116’’, ‘‘221117’’, ‘‘221118’’, 

‘‘221121’’, ‘‘221122’’, ‘‘221310’’, 

‘‘221320’’, and ‘‘221330’’ to read as 

follows: 

§ 121.201 What size standards has SBA 

identified by North American Industry 

Classification System codes? 

* * * * * 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 77351 

SMALL BUSINESS SIZE STANDARDS BY NAICS INDUSTRY

NAICS 

codes NAICS U.S. industry title Size standards in millions of dollars 

Size standards 

in number of 

employees 

*******

221111 .............. Hydroelectric Power Generation ...................................................................................... ............................ 500 

221112 .............. Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation ............................................................................. ............................ 750 

221113 .............. Nuclear Electric Power Generation .................................................................................. ............................ 750 

221114 .............. Solar Electric Power Generation ...................................................................................... ............................ 250 

221115 .............. Wind Electric Power Generation ...................................................................................... ............................ 250 

221116 .............. Geothermal Electric Power Generation ............................................................................ ............................ 250 

221117 .............. Biomass Electric Power Generation ................................................................................. ............................ 250 

221118 .............. Other Electric Power Generation ..................................................................................... ............................ 250 

221121 .............. Electric Bulk Power Transmission and Control ................................................................ ............................ 500 

221122 .............. Electric Power Distribution ............................................................................................... ............................ 1,000 

* * * * * * * 

221310 .............. Water Supply and Irrigation Systems ............................................................................... 25.5 ............................

221320 .............. Sewage Treatment Facilities ............................................................................................ 19.0 ............................

221330 .............. Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply ................................................................................. 14.0 ............................

* * * * * * * 

■ 3. In § 121.201, at the end the table 

‘‘Small Business Size Standards by 

NAICS Industry,’’ remove and reserve 

Footnote 1 to read as follows:. 

* * * * * 

FOOTNOTES 

1. [Reserved]. 

* * * * * 

Dated: August 16, 2013. 

Karen G. Mills, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2013–30327 Filed 12–20–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71 

[Docket No. FAA–2013–0641; Airspace 

Docket No. 13–AGL–7] 

Establishment of Class E Airspace; 

Sisseton, SD 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This action establishes Class 

E airspace at Sisseton, SD. Controlled 

airspace is necessary to accommodate 

new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard 

Instrument Approach Procedures at 

Sisseton Municipal Airport. The FAA is 

taking this action to enhance the safety 

and management of Instrument Flight 

Rule (IFR) operations at the airport. 

DATES: Effective date: 0901 UTC, April 

3, 2014. The Director of the Federal 

Register approves this incorporation by 

reference action under 1 CFR part 51, 

subject to the annual revision of FAA 

Order 7400.9 and publication of 

conforming amendments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Scott Enander, Central Service Center, 

Operations Support Group, Federal 

Aviation Administration, Southwest 

Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort 

Worth, TX 76137; telephone 817–321– 

7716. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

History 

On August 16, 2013, the FAA 

published in the Federal Register a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

to establish Class E airspace for the 

Sisseton, SD, area, creating controlled 

airspace at Sisseton Municipal Airport 

(78 FR 49985) Docket No. FAA–2013– 

0641. Interested parties were invited to 

participate in this rulemaking effort by 

submitting written comments on the 

proposal to the FAA. No comments 

were received. Class E airspace 

designations are published in paragraph 

6005 of FAA Order 7400.9X dated 

August 7, 2013, and effective September 

15, 2013, which is incorporated by 

reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E 

airspace designations listed in this 

document will be published 

subsequently in the Order. 

The Rule 

This action amends Title 14 Code of 

Federal Regulations (14 CFR) Part 71 by 

establishing Class E airspace extending 

upward from 700 feet above the surface 

within a 10.7-mile radius of Sisseton 

Municipal Airport, Sisseton, SD, to 

contain aircraft executing new standard 

instrument approach procedures at the 

airport. Controlled airspace enhances 

the safety and management of IFR 

operations at the airport. 

The FAA has determined that this 

regulation only involves an established 

body of technical regulations for which 

frequent and routine amendments are 

necessary to keep them operationally 

current. Therefore, this regulation: (1) Is 

not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ 

under Executive Order 12866; (2) is not 

a ‘‘significant rule’’ under DOT 

Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 

FR 11034; February 26, 1979); and (3) 

does not warrant preparation of a 

regulatory evaluation as the anticipated 

impact is so minimal. Since this is a 

routine matter that only affects air traffic 

procedures and air navigation, it is 

certified that this rule, when 

promulgated, does not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities under the 

criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 

The FAA’s authority to issue rules 

regarding aviation safety is found in 

Title 49 of the U.S. Code. Subtitle 1, 

Section 106, describes the authority of 

the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII, 

Aviation Programs, describes in more 

detail the scope of the agency’s 

authority. This rulemaking is 

promulgated under the authority 

described in Subtitle VII, Part A, 

Subpart I, Section 40103. Under that 

section, the FAA is charged with 

prescribing regulations to assign the use 

of airspace necessary to ensure the 

safety of aircraft and the efficient use of 

airspace. This regulation is within the 

scope of that authority as it establishes 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES