Ecan powerless to stop tyre stockpiling, fire
Residents in a North Canterbury town are calling on the Government to stop allowing the stockpiling of tyres after hundreds went up in flames earlier this week.
Representatives from Environment Canterbury (Ecan), the Hurunui District Council (HDC) and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) met with about 40 residents in Amberley to discuss their concerns following Monday night’s fire.
About 500 tyres were allegedly deliberately set alight on a Racecourse Rd property.
There was serious concern that another pile of about 200,000 could be next, which would pose a significant environmental threat.
The stockpiled tyres have worried nearby residents for more than a year.
HDC chief executive Hamish Dobbie said efforts to address the situation had been made, but the territorial authority had very limited power.
The tyres had been stored on land belonging to Warren Heslop, but leased by businessman Michael Benny Le Roy, who had indicated he would recycle them.
Recycling tyres was not an unlawful activity, Dobbie said, but once the council became aware that the tyres were being stockpiled rather than recycled, an abatement notice was served.
Six parties, including trucking companies seen dropping off tyres to the site, were served with notices, and infringements were issued when tyres continued to appear, he said.
The landowner eventually locked the site, effectively evicting those responsible for the stockpile.
Because HDC had limited powers to deal with the situation, the matter was handed on to Ecan, which was now the lead agency.
The situation was also difficult for Ecan to immediately resolve, though, as there had to be evidence of contamination for there to be an environmental impact.
Regional leader compliance delivery James Tricker said the tyres had not been buried, so did not pose a risk of contamination.
The challenge for Ecan had been to get the stockpile to fit within the permitted framework of the Resource Management Act, he said.
Ecan was concerned the tyres posed a fire risk and sought an interim enforcement order against Le Roy through the Environment Court in December 2017.
Both HDC and Ecan stressed they had done everything within their legal powers to get the tyres shifted.
Ecan senior manager, service delivery Nick Daniels said a hearing date was expected to be set over the next two weeks.
It was difficult for Ecan to comment specifically on the case now it was before the courts, but the hearing would be public, he said.
‘‘Ecan has been through two legal reviews to make sure it stacks up.
‘‘All of our actions have been designed to get [Le Roy] to get rid of the tyres.’’
Hurunui District councillor Julia Mclean, who set up the meeting on behalf of concerned neighbours, urged the community to write to their MP to call for changes to legislation that would give authorities greater powers to deal with tyre stockpiling.
She also called for more regular communication from Ecan so the community was aware things were happening, something which had not happened thus far.
Community members raised concerns about the security of the site and were worried there was a real risk of the remaining tyres being targeted by arsonists.
Daniels said the landowner had installed security cameras at the site, but acknowledged the property was ‘‘not totally secure’’.
The landowners have confirmed to the council that multiple cameras, installed by Hanmer Security, would monitor the site around the clock.
Ecan would consider other measures, including more surveillance, security guards and fencing, and the tyres would be separated into smaller piles to lessen the risk, he said.