January 11, 2001: Waste Information & Management Services, Inc. (WIMS), an environmental information company that publishes Michigan Waste Report and provides several Email information services, announced that it will add a full service environmental business Internet portal to its array of services. EcoBizPort.com is expected to be formally launched within the next few months. At this time, WIMS is seeking environmental professionals to participate in a Beta test phase of the site. WIMS has been providing environmental information services for over 20 years and was one of the first environmental publications in the country to provide Email information services to supplement its hardcopy newsletter.

Jeff Dauphin, WIMS President said, "We think users will find EcoBizPort.com to be refreshingly different than other business and industry portals they have seen. We have been developing this concept for over a year and have attempted to design a functional portal that Michigan environmental managers can use as a homepage and a launchpad to the vast amount of information resources available on the Internet." Most portions of the site will be open to the public at large.

According to Dauphin, one of the bedrock principles incorporated into this site is the utilization of state government as the linchpin to information content and e-business. He said, "The environmental industry operates within a morass of international, federal, state and local government laws, regulations, ordinances, policies and treaties. State government has evolved as the center point of this labyrinth. EcoBizPort seeks to set itself apart from other related portals by recognizing this important principle." Michigan is the starting point and other states will be phased in over time.

The site also incorporates a unique organizational platform that focuses information not only at the state level, but also sorts and details information to specific areas of environmental expertise (e.g. air, water, solid waste, hazardous waste, etc.) and to a variety of industry-specific sectors (e.g. automotive, dry-cleaning, agriculture, chemical manufacturing, etc.).

Dauphin indicated that the site is a work in progress and will be far from complete, even when it is formally launched. He said, "As the site matures, and the various components are fully developed, we believe it will provide an unparalleled opportunity for integrated advertising, service/facility marketing and information management throughout the environmental community." He said the site currently contains nearly 3,000 links to information, with thousands more to be added.

The innovative organizational structure of the site allows the user to quickly access links to critical information within general, specialty and sector areas, as well as within various information "resource centers" including: Environmental News & Media; a Michigan Calendar; Search, Portals & Utilities; Local Area Databases; e-Biz Gateway; Projects, RFPs, RFQs, etc.; Products & Services; Politics; Legal Resources; Education & Training; Trade Shows & Meetings; Associations & Organizations; Research & Publications; Maps, Weather & Geo-Info; Employment & Careers; and Other Biz, a center that includes a variety of links to sites dealing with Vacation, Travel & Leisure, Money Matters, Real Estate, Sports, Outdoor Recreation, Hunting/Fishing, Health Matters, Shopping/Auctions and other activities.

The site also includes a link to a Reference Desk of information and facts and a series of Message Boards including classifieds, general issue discussion and a crossfire opinion board that will feature opposing issue commentary from two prominent Michigan environmental professionals.

During the Beta test phase, Dauphin says he hopes to receive feedback on the functionality of the site as well as the interest of user companies to consider the site as a forum for advertising and corporate sponsorships. Persons wishing to participate in the Beta test should contact WIMS for instructions and information on accessing the EcoBizPort Beta site.