Councillors in the RM of Woodlands followed all necessary procedures when approving the construction of the Federated Co-op Bulk Fuel Storage facility. That's the ruling of the Manitoba Ombudsman following an investigation into the issue, stemming from complaints filed about a year and a half ago. Reeve Trevor King says the complaints focused on the facility's proximity to potable water, the height of the storage tanks, the circulation of the conditional use application, and the RM's decision not to conduct a risk assessment study.

King says he wasn't surprised by the ruling, noting when the facility was approved, they were certain all necessary steps were taken.

"We followed the process, and a majority of the council at that time was quite confident we had done everything properly, all the approvals and regulations had been met provincially and federally. We were quite satisfied we had done everything properly, and this kind of just assures us everything was done right."

The decision to opt out of a risk assessment was a focus of former councillor and candidate for reeve Bill Fleury during the 2014 municipal election, who said the study was skipped over. King says Council took that decision seriously, and the Manitoba Ombudsman has supported their claim.

"As far as the risk assessment study, Council had voted against that in 2012 because we felt RM residents were safe, so we used our discretion. The decision in this report says it does not equate to bad faith or a breach of trust, and in Woodlands' opinion it doesn't equate to any increased risk for RM residents, so that makes us feel pretty confident in our decision that we had made."

He hopes the release of this report, which includes no recommendations regarding how the approval was handled, will help put some minds at ease.

"We were hoping to get this back sooner. These were some of the challenges I faced in the campaign for the election, and I was confident all the way through that we followed everything properly. We're very pleased with how the report came back, it's very favourable to the RM. Hopefully it will take away some of the doubts in the minds' of residents and tax payers."

Another complaint was also addressed by the Ombudsman in the recent report, focusing on a perceived conflict of interest with the community development corporation. The complaint focused on the sale of land within the RM to a CDC Board Member, accusing the RM of not taking steps to prevent a conflict of interest. After reviewing the records associated with the sale, the Ombudsman ruled all steps were taken to protect against a conflict of interest.