BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A recent report has forced the Port of Bellingham to change some of its protocols.

Office of the Washington State Auditor released the report last week, detailing their annual audit of the Port.

They found one instance of non-compliance with federal regulations, saying the Port did not award a federal contract fairly and uniformly.

The contract in question went to the California-based firm Moffat and Nichol to design a project under the $4.2 million grant from the Port Infrastructure Development Program.

Port CFO Tamara Sobjack says she was notified of the noncompliance in around mid-May.

In the time since the findings were given to the Port, the agency has taken steps to change its protocols that fall in line with federal law.

Beginning this past June, a required scorecard to rank contract bids for projects was filed both with the Engineering team and the Contracting and Bids department.

According to Sobjack, the scorecard is a federal requirement that the Port already fills out when awarding contracts and this is the only time it was not filled out.