The saga of the botched bond deal that led to the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history may finally be nearing an end. First, a federal judge will need to sign off on a plan by JPMorgan Chase to forgive nearly $1 billion in debt owed to it by Jefferson County, Ala.

The bankruptcy case dates back to 2002. Jefferson County had squandered $2 billion to build a new state-of-the-art sewage system, and was looking to refinance its debt by issuing another $3 billion worth of bonds.

The county turned to Wall Street banks, led by JPMorgan Chase, for help. The deal both sides agreed to involved a complex package of derivatives coupled with debt that, much like adjustable-rate mortgages, carried interest rates that would reset periodically.

When the financial crisis hit, those interest rates began to spike. Repayment schedules also sped up, ultimately leaving Jefferson County with $4.2 billion in debt it could not afford.

In time, federal prosecutors would uncover a bribery scheme tied to the transaction. FRONTLINE captured the drama in the below clip from Money, Power & Wall Street:

Under the proposed agreement, JPMorgan would forgive Jefferson County of $842 million in debt. That amount comes on top of the $722 million settlement the bank reached in 2009 with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection to the Jefferson County deal.

In all, Jefferson County owes a total of $2.4 billion to a group of creditors that includes JPMorgan, three bond holders and seven hedge funds. JPMorgan holds about $1.22 billion of that debt. The county’s refinancing agreement would return $1.84 billion to its creditors.

Residents of Jefferson County, meanwhile, would see their sewer fees rise by 7.41 percent a year for the first four years of the refinancing deal. The agreement could help Jefferson County exit bankruptcy by the end of the year.

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