Justice Robert Sewell dismissed claims by the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council that it had not been duly consulted during the environmental assessment process.

Sewell ruled the Environmental Assessment Office had made a genuine offer of consultation.

"It is now up to the EAO to carry through on its promise and up to the NNTC to make a good faith arrangement to take advantage of this opportunity," Sewell wrote.

Surrey Coun. Marvin Hunt, chairman of Metro Vancouver's solid waste committee, said the latest judgment gives the region another option in how to deal with its garbage.

Metro has abandoned the notion of having dumps in the B.C. Interior after concerns were raised by first nations groups. It is now holding consultation sessions on building up to six incinerators in the Lower Mainland.

"We need to continue on in our consultations and look at all alternatives and decide what is best for the environment," Hunt said. "It sort of puts another option on the table."