Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) LLC has adopted a route variation in far northwestern Buckingham County that would avoid impacts within a wetland mitigation site and potential impacts on the proposed Warminster Rural Historic District along the James River.

The route variation, which would place the proposed 550-mile natural gas pipeline closer to the Yogaville community according to the ACP’s maps, was noted in additional information submitted Friday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) — the body that could approve the joint venture being led by Dominion.

“Since filing its application with FERC, [ACP] has identified and evaluated a new route variation to avoid impacts within a wetland mitigation site (the Swift Island Mitigation Site) on the east bank of the river,” the report stated, “and to address potential impacts on a newly identified rural historic district (RHD), the Warminster RHD, on the west bank.”

“Henrico County is building a reservoir in Cumberland County,” said Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle. “They’re going to use this wetland site in Buckingham County to mitigate the changes that it’s doing in Cumberland County … We couldn’t go through the heart of it, we’re just going to skirt it a bit,” Norvelle said of the route variation.

The adopted route variation crosses the James River slightly north of the latest proposed route. The variation also crossed Woodland Church Road slightly north as compared to the proposed route.

Norvelle couldn’t say if any new parcels of property or new landowners were being affected.

According to the report, the Warminster/Swift Island Route Variation, which includes horizontal directional drilling (HDD) crossing the James River, “will avoid or minimize impacts on the second crossing of the district. Potential impacts on architectural resources will be assessed when field surveys are completed in the Fall of 2015. The Warminster/Swift Island Route Variation … is generally parallel to and approximately one-tenth to two-tenths of a mile north or west of the currently proposed route.”

“We believe these route adjustments meet the project’s critical need of supplying clean, inexpensive energy to public utility customers while protecting the environmental and cultural resources of communities along the route,” said Diane Leopold, president of Dominion Energy.

“I can say that it gets more disturbing with each new ‘shot’, rather like being the target in a shooting gallery,” said Kenda Hanuman, a Friends of Buckingham spokeswoman.

“My heart goes out to the landowners who are repeatedly threatened with loss of their property rights. I’m hearing that Buckingham citizens express shock and amazement that everyone doesn’t have all of the facts when they’re made aware of what we’ve uncovered in our year of research. We still need a public forum,” Hanuman said, speaking on behalf of the group opposed to the proposed ACP.

The route variation is approximately two-tenths of a mile longer than the corresponding segment of the proposed route, “but it reduces the crossing length of the wetland mitigation site by six-tenths of a mile and avoids active wetland mitigation areas and designated stream buffers within the site,” the report stated.

The route variation crosses one additional perennial waterbody and an additional three-tenths of a mile of forested land, but reduces the crossing length of the James River WMA by two-tenths of a mile, according to the report. “Additionally, the proposed HDD will avoid surface impacts within the boundary of the Warminster RHD at the crossing closest to the James River.”

According to ACP, the pipeline is designed to meet the need for cleaner electricity generation, satisfy the growing demand for natural gas to heat homes and businesses and promote consumer savings and economic growth.