Miltown Properties Ltd and its director Ezra Eini, of Dunedin, were before the Environment Court last month and admitted eight charges relating to the unlawful storage of end-of-life tyres and breaching an abatement notice.
The Otago Regional Council laid charges after it received an inquiry about "a lot" of tyres being stored at the Milton property and then a complaint near the end of 2022.
Over the next six months, the council and Eini discussed the issue and Eini said he would apply for consent to continue storing the tyres in the yard.
He never did.
Furthermore, around the time of the complaint, council staff visited the site and noted a stack of about 120 tyres, and a truck-load more was being added to the pile, the Environment Court decision said.
The truck driver said he was contracted by Miltown Properties Ltd to transport tyres from tyre shops to the property.
He understood they were intended to be used in a "waste-to-energy" or "waste-to-biofuel" recycling project.
In November 2022, council staff visited again and estimated there were now 2500 tyres, and some were overhanging the Tokomairaro riverbed.
In January 2023, the council issued an abatement notice, directing Eini to clear more than 20cum of tyres by March 8.
But in March, the number of tyres at the property had increased to about 40,000.
The following month, the pile had grown again and no attempt to comply with the abatement notice was made.
Eini told the council the tyres had been sourced from as far away as Queenstown, Gore and Christchurch, and he was waiting on a machine to come from China for biofuel conversion.
The council engaged a third-party to assess the environmental effects a storage yard with about 55,000 tyres could have.
Its report to the council said tyre-related contaminants had the potential to have adverse environmental effects, including on the nearby Tokomairaro River swamp, which could impact the "at-risk or declining" native fish found there.
While most chemical compounds leached from tyres were contained on land, they could travel to water in circumstances such as a flood, the report said.
It also raised concern about the tyres posing a fire risk.
Since the matter was brought to court, the tyres had been moved to appropriate indoor storage, the court heard.
Judge Prudence Steven KC noted there was no actual environmental harm observed in this case, but Eini’s actions were deliberate.
"The potential for serious environmental effects cannot be ignored," she said.
"Mr Eini was motivated by a desire to establish a business which would address a recognised environmental problem, being the appropriate means of disposing of waste tyres."
Judge Steven acknowledged submissions regarding Eini’s good character, including aiding and supporting the New Zealand Army for combat training and allowing access to his land for the new Clutha Gold Cycle Trail.
But his failure to comply with the abatement notice aggravated the offending.
The judge fined Eini and his company $52,000 total and ordered 90% of that to be paid to the council.
