BUCKINGHAM — Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC (ACP) has adopted the Wingina route variation for a planned 42-inch natural gas pipeline — a change that moves the pipeline closer to the Yogaville community in northwestern Buckingham.

The proposed pipeline would now enter Buckingham from Nelson County across the James River about three miles north of the route originally proposed. A Dominion map shows the newly adopted route crossing Woodland Church Road further north. The new route joins the original route where it crosses Warminster Church Road.

“It’s completely unacceptable, and we will fight it,” said Kenda Hanuman, a Yogaville resident and spokeswoman for Friends of Buckingham, a group opposed to the ACP. “Nobody’s going to accept that this is going to be the final decision.”

ACP adopted the route, which has been under consideration for several months, “to avoid a historically significant area that contains historic sites and buildings and may contain prehistoric sites. The proposed variation is slightly shorter than the original proposed route and crosses fewer private lands,” Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle said. “We’ve surveyed all but one mile of it.”

Dominion is the lead partner of the joint venture that’s seeking to construct the pipeline across Buckingham, Cumberland and Prince Edward counties. Along with the pipeline, the ACP is seeking to construct a 40,000-plus horsepower natural-gas fired compressor station in Buckingham.

“The Norwood-Wingina Historic District in Nelson County, which was once occupied by the Monacan Indian Nation and early European settlers, is proposed to be listed imminently on the Virginia Landmarks Register and nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. Through the routing process, [the ACP] became aware of this possible listing and has worked to avoid the proposed Norwood-Wingina Historic District as it sought to find the best route with the least impact to the environment, historical and cultural resources,” Norvelle said.

The variation is 6.1 miles, or slightly less than the 6.3 miles of the original route, according to Dominion. “It will cross 1.1 miles of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries James River Wildlife Management Area in Nelson County before crossing the river,” Norvelle said.

“We’re not on Yogaville property,” Norvelle said of the proposed route’s proximity to the community. “The variation is closer to their property … Any construction that will occur will be short term and temporary. Certainly construction is messy, but it’s short term and temporary.”

He said the ACP has been in contact with Yogaville leadership, keeping them informed through the process.

“We knew that it was an option and we know that they’re suing our alternative route landowners,” Hanuman added. “So it’s not a total surprise that this is what they think they’re going to do.”

The ACP has filed seven civil lawsuits against landowners in Buckingham to gain access to property to survey.