Source: Ministry for the Environment
Members of the public can now have their say on a proposal to manage the outdoor storage of tyres.
The Ministry for the Environment is seeking information and feedback from local government, businesses, farmers and the agri-sector, iwi Māori and the general public in a consultation process that starts today.
Tyres stored outdoors pose risks to the environment and to human health – piles of tyres can become a fire risk which produces toxic smoke and run-off, become a home for mosquito and rodents, and risk leaching contaminants into the soil. Abandoned tyre stockpiles can create a financial liability to remove or clean up the site.
A National Environmental Standard (a set of national rules managed by regional councils) is proposed, as this will help avoid the problem of tyres being moved from one region to another in response to different council rules.
This new consultation follows a previous round in 2017. The proposal then was for a volume threshold of 200m3 (around 2500 car tyres) stored outdoors on a property before a resource consent was required.
The new consultation document seeks feedback on a lower proposed threshold option – 100m3 (around 1250 tyres). In addition, it is proposed that quantities of tyres of 40m3 (around 500 tyres) and up to the threshold be subject to a Resource Management Act 1991 “permitted activity rule with requirements”, for example, that they must be set back from water bodies and powerlines.
It is proposed farm silage tyres are excluded from resource consent requirement.
Consultation is open now and closes on 25 March 2020.
Full consultation document and further details on making a submission
ENDS
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