Maine DEP Welcomes Visitors to New, Improved Agency Website
December 21, 2011
Contact: Samantha DePoy-Warren,
Director of Communications & Education
Welcome to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection?s new and improved website.
A product of a collaborative, inclusive two-year process led by department webmasters Karl Wilkins, Karen Anderson, Mary Breton and Paula Ripley, we hope you find that the new website projects a more accessible, approachable and assistance-oriented environmental protection agency and affirms DEP?s commitment to cooperation and to transparent, open government.
Among the new site?s user-friendly features:
To convey our culture of cooperation, contact information takes a prominent position throughout the site, including on the homepage and on every page in the footer.
Information organized by function ? like permitting and rulemaking ? and media ? like air, water and waste management ? so even those with limited knowledge of the agency and its internal structure can still easily find what they are looking for.
Intuitive, consistent navigation for improved usability.
Answers to the most frequently asked questions (like ?How do I clean up a broken CFL?? or ?How do I make an environmental complaint??) featured on the homepage and on each environmental media landing pages.
Streamlining of the former site and its 5,000 plus pages and 30,000 plus files by 80 percent, resulting in more accurate search results, getting users to what they are looking for with fewer clicks and with less clutter along the way, and allowing the department to better manage the existing pages for currency and content.
Clean design that reflects the professionalism our department?s work has long proven.
In the coming weeks, the department webmasters will be working to repair any links broken during the migration. We ask for your patience throughout this process as we realize some parts of the site may be slow, or not working at all. Please trust this is only temporary. If you are unable to find the information you need using the new site, we encourage you to search by subject matter at http://maine.gov/dep/subject.html or if you need additional assistance, please write to the department at infodep@maine.gov or contact your local DEP office and the receptionist or on-call staff will assist you.
Thank you and on behalf of the entire department, we hope you enjoy the new website,
Samantha DePoy-Warren, Director of Communications & Education samantha.depoy-warren@maine.gov /(207)287-5842