RICHMOND, Va., April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Dozens of environmental groups in Virginia will share $500,000 in grants this year from the charitable arm of Dominion Resources, the parent company of Dominion Virginia Power, to preserve wetlands, plant trees, monitor water quality and more.

The first wave of grants from The Dominion Foundation – $275,000 – will go out this month to 17 organizations. A listing is available at https://www.dom.com/about/community/pdf/spring-2013-env-grants-awarded.pdf . A second wave of environmental grants goes out later this year, starting in October.

"Providing grants for environmental projects is one of the mainstays of our corporate giving program," said Paul Koonce, chief executive officer of Dominion Virginia Power.  "We know supplying electric power affects our world, so we focus on obeying environmental laws and regulations, operating our units efficiently and giving back to our communities."

Grants are funded from corporate profits, not customer bills.

Among the recipients in the first wave are:

• The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, $25,000, to expand its citizen water monitoring program to the Tidal York and Small Coastal Basins watersheds
• Friends of Southwest Virginia in Abingdon, $20,000, to identify and implement access points along the Clinch River
• The Nature Generation in Arlington, $15,000, to establish the first Monarch Waystation at the Chapman DeMary Trail in downtown Purcellville

Over the past 10 years, Dominion's total environmental giving has reached $17.4 million, including major grants for groups such as The National Arbor Day Foundation, The Trust for Public Land, Keep Virginia Beautiful, and Dominion's Project Plant It!.

For more information about the company's environmental giving and how to apply, go to:
https://www.dom.com/about/community/environmental-stewardship-grants-program.jsp

The company's charitable giving focuses not only on the environment, energy conservation and energy assistance, but also on education, neighborhood revitalization and direct human services, such as food banks, homeless shelters and free medical clinics. The company annually contributes more than $20 million to these causes in the communities where it operates or has significant business interests.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,500 megawatts of generation, 11,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline and 6,300 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 947 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

Save time, energy and postage by enrolling in Dominion's eBill paperless billing program at: https://www.dom.com/find-it-fast/payment-options/paperless-billing.jsp

SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power