BIRMINGHAM, Ala. AP – A judge has cleared the way for an Alabama county to move forward with the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, overruling Wall Street claims that state law didn’t allow the county to file the case.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett issued his order late Sunday, allowing Jefferson County, the state’s largest county, to remain in bankruptcy as it attempts to sort out more than $4 billion debt linked to borrowing for the county’s sewer system.