Horizons Regional Council has three possible options for getting the tyres dumped in Whanganui's Brunswick Rd removed without cost to ratepayers, regulation manager Nic Peet says.
Tyres were piled up on the rural property there by a business in 2012 and early 2013. The pile has an estimated 4000 end-of-life tyres.
In 2013 Horizons asked the business to stop adding tyres, which it did. The business was also asked to apply for resource consent to store them, which Horizons said it did not do.
The business had been leasing the property, with an option to buy it, but ended the lease in 2013. Since then it has been for sale, but no one has wanted to buy it with the added cost of removing the tyres.
Dr Peet said the regional council would first pursue the owner of the land, who is overseas and who has been advised of his obligation to remove the tyres should the business leave.