The owners of a tyre dump in western Victoria have been ordered to pay more than $4.5 million to the state's environment watchdog.

The Supreme Court ordered the Internet Marketing Solutions Corp (IMSC) to foot the bill of the mammoth clean-up undertaken by the Environment Protect Authority (EPA), which removed about 1 million tyres from the Stawell stockpile.

The court has also put an injunction on the Panama-based company selling the site.

The EPA took over the site in August last year after the owners failed to comply with multiple orders from the watchdog and Country Fire Authority.

EPA chief executive Cathy Wilkinson said she hoped the fine would deter others from stockpiling tyres.

"We're very pleased. It's important that EPA's costs are recovered and it's important that these sort of proceedings send a very strong message to anyone storing large stockpiles of tyres," she said.

"It's really critical that community and environment risk is put first and foremost by all occupiers, owners and duty holders."

The Environment Protection Authority took about two months to clear 1 million tyres from the stockpile at Stawell, after taking over the site in August last year. ( Supplied: EPA )

Long-running legal battle

The company lost a legal bid to try and prevent the EPA from clearing the stockpile in August last year.

The Supreme Court heard the land was transferred to IMSC by its previous owner, Used Tyre Recycling Corporation, for no cost earlier that year.

The EPA estimated about 7,000 people from the surrounding area would have to be evacuated if the stockpile caught fire.

The stockpile was less than 300 metres from an abattoir, the town's biggest employer, and 2.5 kilometres from the Stawell CBD.

Almost 10,000 tonnes were removed from the site over two months.

The majority of tyres were recycled in Melbourne, while just over a third were sent to landfill.

"It was an incredible task, it took an incredible amount of effort … I think it's just so good to see that risk is now removed for the community of Stawell," Dr Wilkinson said.

Dr Wilkinson was unable to confirm whether the multi-million-dollar fine would cover the full cost of clearing the site, but said the agency was happy with the decision.

In a statement from the EPA last year, the agency estimated the clean-up had cost about $5 million.