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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its authority in trying to regulate storm water as it would a pollutant, a federal judge in Alexandria ruled Thursday.

The decision, a victory for Fairfax County and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R), came six months after the county and state filed a lawsuit against the EPA over its attempt to regulate the amount of water flowing through Fairfax’s Accotink Creek watershed as a means of controlling sediment buildup.

County and state officials called it a massive regulatory overreach that would have devastated economic development and cost taxpayers millions in unnecessary expenses.

In his ruling, Judge Liam O’Grady agreed, saying that such a requirement went beyond the EPA’s authority under the Clean Water Act.

“The ruling will save millions of dollars now and much more in the future,” Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) said in a statement. “It is a positive victory for the taxpayers of Virginia.”

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