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A federal report released on Tuesday upholds the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s decision to move its Pacific fleet and operations from Seattle to Newport.

But the report, released by Todd Zinser, inspector general for the U.S. Department of Commerce, also made clear that the process in which Newport was selected had errors and weaknesses in it.

According to the report, NOAA limited its consideration to only areas that allowed the organization to consolidate all of its facilities into one location, even though it could have been cheaper to have them in various locations. Also, the report mentioned that NOAA didn’t take into consideration the use of federally owned space, which could have also saved the agency money.

The report came after Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, requested the inspector general review how the contract was awarded to Newport. Cantwell, chair of the subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, has continuously contested NOAA’s decision to select Newport over three cities in Washington.

In the end, Zinser noted that even with the errors and weaknesses in the search, Newport would have still been awarded the contract because two of the three other possible locations had leasing costs that exceeded NOAA’s lease authority. And while the third was within NOAA’s lease authority, it was more expensive than Newport, received a lower technical rating and is in a floodplain.

The news bodes well for Newport considering construction of the new facilities has been under way since last fall when NOAA originally signed a 20-year renewable lease for the property.