The Waitaki District Council intends to stop erosion of the closed Hampden dump as soon as it receives resource consent from the Otago Regional Council.
The sea is eroding about 60m of the dump face, between Hampden Beach and Moeraki Boulders, spreading rubbish along the coast and out to sea.
However, moves to stop the erosion have been held up while the council discusses with the Department of Conservation what protection should be put in place because of geological "cone-in-cone" concretions buried under the dump.
The council's assets manager, Neil Jorgensen, said agreement had been reached with the department for semi-permanent rock protection.
It would have to be shifted about every 20 years as the coast eroded.
The council had modified its resource consent application with the regional council and it had been submitted to Doc and Kai Tahu Ki Otago for comment.
