Fish and Game's resource consent applications for the restoration of the wetland have been on hold for a year while appeals to the Otago Regional Council's wetland plan change were in Environment Court mediation.
The mediated resolutions of those appeals, which were lodged by organisations including
Fish and Game, Meridian Energy and Trust Power, were signed off by Environment Court judge Jon Jackson last week without the need of a court hearing.
For Fish and Game the sign-off means it can look again at the Takitakitoa proposal which was put on hold after the regional council said it was unlikely to approve the consents Fish and Game was seeking as it would affect the values of the swamp.
Fish and Game had hoped to re-flood the 80ha wetland, near Henley, by installing a 400m-long, 1m high bund about 400m from the Taieri River to create 30ha of shallow, open-water wetland.
General manager Niall Watson said one of the changes made as a result of mediation meant raising water levels in a wetland would be considered a restricted discretionary activity instead of a non-complying one which would have worked against any restoration plans.
''It facilitates enhancement of wetlands which is a very good thing particularly as many Otago wetlands need active management.''
Otago wetlands were rarely pristine and most were modified so they needed active management to retain their values, he said.
The wetland's listing would also be changed from having a high degree of naturalness to having a high degree of modification due to drainage and farm development.
Now the wetland was accurately listed and its values had been inventoried, the proposal could be looked at again, he said. Fish and Game needed to look closely at the wetland plan changes and talk with the regional council about what they meant.
''We're hopeful it will be more straightforward and it should be able to proceed.''
Fish and Game would then need to reapply for the funding it had secured but postponed when the project was put on hold.
Another change made to the plan recognised introduced water fowl instead of just indigenous water fowl.
''Game-bird hunting is a major amenity value and the majority of game birds are non-indigenous.''
Fish and Game had also conceded some issues including leaving the wetland inventory outside the wetland plan so more information could be added without a plan change, Mr Watson said.
Otago Regional Council policy director Fraser McRae said the regionally significant wetland plan change would become formally operative once it received the council's seal at its meeting on September 18.
''Any opportunity for modifying it is long gone now the court has approved it.''
The final approval of the court was the end of a ''long road'' and it had been positive to settle it without a court hearing, he said.
