Piedmont Gas and Auto Repair on Highland Avenue across from the police station is shuttered for the time being due to a state mandate that went into effect on Jan. 1.
Under a California law passed in 2014, single-walled underground storage tanks that lack secondary containment and continuous leak detection had to be closed by Dec. 31, 2025. The law was intended to help prevent groundwater contamination.
According to the State Water Resources Control Board, penalties for systems out of compliance are $500 to $5,000 per day per underground storage tank. A bill introduced last February to carve out a grace period for operators who were acting in good faith to upgrade their tanks went nowhere.
Both the Piedmont Gas and Auto Repair and Grand-Mandana Gas Station show up on the Water Board’s map of the state’s remaining single-walled underground tank sites.
The Highland station across from the police station is now encircled by a fence. An employee inside the building said the gas pumps would be closed for “three months” in order to upgrade the tanks.
In related news, demolition on the proposed Shell EV charging station on Wildwood Avenue started in October 2025 There is still no opening date set for that location after a city-approved plan for the site was upended by Shell. (See article below for details.)