The state of Pennsylvania provides guidance to local water utilities who plan to apply for state funding for wastewater treatment projects (Department of Environmental Protection n.d.). Utilities must provide a full analysis with the net PV of any proposed new facility. Suppose a water utility wants to build a plant that could process 5 million gallons of water per day. The plant would cost $2.0 million to build in year 0 and last for 10 years; fixed operating and maintenance (0&M) costs would be $84,000 per year; and variable 0&M costs would start at $0 in year 1 and rise linearly to reach $29,000 in year 10. The discount rate is 7.625%. [Need a refresher on xed vs. variable costs? Try this: (\"Variable Cost 81. Fixed Cost - Economics\" n.d.).] a. What is the present value of the facility? b. What is the present value if the discount rate is 5.625%? 0. Compare your answers to (a) and (b) and explain why and how they differ. d. Boardman (Chapter 1) lists 10 steps to conducting a cost-benet analysis. Which of those 10 steps are highlighted in this