Work to decommission the shuttered Bo-Gas began this week, closing a chapter on a century-old filling station that for years provided the only gas on the coast from Mill Valley to Point Reyes Station. The Bolinas Community Land Trust, which ran the station for nearly two decades, received $238,000 from Marin County’s West Marin Infrastructure Reserve to cover the removal of the site’s underground storage tank. Located on Wharf Road, Bo-Gas was established in 1909 and later became one of California’s only nonprofit filling stations when the land trust purchased and renovated it in 2004. Surplus revenue supported the trust’s operating budget, while the building was converted into eight units of affordable housing and a few commercial spaces. But the station struggled in recent years, requiring subsidies from the trust, and it closed in 2023. Contractors will excavate and remove the station’s single underground storage tank, which is divided into three compartments that once held gasoline. The land trust drained the tank last winter to prevent leaks, a move that left the facility technically out of compliance: once emptied, a tank can no longer satisfy state leak-detection requirements. Monitoring has shown no contamination of soil or groundwater, but the trust’s director, Annie O’Connor, said removing it is an important safeguard. “Here’s an opportunity to really do right by our mission and steward the land in the best interest of the human and natural environment,” she said. The project will be overseen by the county’s Certified Unified Programs Agency and the State Water Resources Control Board and is expected to take three to six weeks. Crews will test soil and groundwater, clean and dispose of the tank and equipment, then backfill and grade the site once inspections are complete. During construction, the property will be fenced off and access to the tenant parking lot will be restricted, though Bo-Vida and La Sirena will remain open. After the work is complete, the land trust plans to redesign the area with a new parking layout. County funding was crucial, Ms. O’Connor said. The West Marin Infrastructure Reserve, created by the county last year, sets aside $1 million annually for coastal community projects. “Rural communities like those in West Marin have long carried the weight of millions of visitors without the infrastructure to support it,” Supervisor Dennis Rodoni said. “This funding is a crucial step in giving our community partners resources to improve essential services, protect community spaces, and preserve the rural character that makes this region so special.”