Dominion News Releases

July 17, 2001

Dominion Contributes to Flash Flood Relief

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Dominion Foundation donated $50,000 Monday for flood relief in several counties in southern West Virginia and Virginia. The American Red Cross received the donation to assist with recovery efforts in the aftermath of recent flash flooding in those areas.

“People’s lives were changed forever by the flooding and devastation it left behind,” said Ben Hardesty, general manager, Dominion Exploration & Production, which operates natural gas pipelines in the damaged area for Dominion, one of the nation's largest energy companies. “Now is the time for us to contribute to the recovery and future of southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia.”

“Dominion makes this donation to the American Red Cross because we believe it is our duty as a corporate citizen to aid the people of those areas,” said Gary Sypolt, senior vice president of Dominion Transmission, the company's interstate pipeline affiliate in Clarksburg, W.Va. "Many of our employees and their families were victims of the floodwaters. Some of our facilities and equipment also were affected."

Sypolt, Hardesty and Bob Orndorff, Dominion’s manager of Government Affairs in West Virginia, presented the $50,000 donation to West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise and representatives of the American Red Cross. The funds will be used to help recovery efforts in the counties of Raleigh, Mercer and Wyoming in West Virginia and Tazewell in Virginia.

U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, who represents Tazewell County, said, "These funds will go a long way toward helping the American Red Cross provide needed services in these counties. I want to thank Dominion for generously donating funds to help residents and businesses recover from the flooding."

Dominion, headquartered in Richmond, Va., is one of the nation’s largest producers of energy, with a production capability of 2.7 trillion British thermal units of energy per day. The company has a power-generation portfolio of more than 21,000 megawatts, which is expected to grow to more than 28,000 megawatts by 2005. Dominion is one of the largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in North America, with 2.8 trillion cubic feet of equivalent reserves. Dominion also serves nearly 4 million retail natural gas and electric customers. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.

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