A bankruptcy judge this week approved a $2.46 billion reorganization plan proposed by the Boy Scouts of America, which would allow it to keep operating while compensating tens of thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children while involved in scouting.

Though legal hurdles remain, the ruling by Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein in Delaware marked an important milestone for the BSA, which sought bankruptcy protection more than two years ago to stave off a flood of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by Scout leaders and volunteers.

The Boy Scouts of America’s Grand Canyon Council, an independent nonprofit organization chartered by the Boy Scouts of America in Arizona, stated in a release it is pleased with the decision.

The ruling confirms the BSA Plan of Reorganization, which in addition to “offering equitable compensation for survivors and providing them with the closure they deserve, will build on the strength and stability of existing youth protection procedures already in place,” Boy Scout officials said in the release.

“We face the future as a far safer, wiser, and more inclusive organization than at any time in our history,” said Andy Price, scout executive for GCC, which takes in much of central and northern Arizona.

“We are laser-focused on building a brighter future in Arizona by serving all interested youth with high-quality, safe programs that teach leadership skills, build self-confidence, and prepare youth for lifetimes of success.”

Lawyers for some of the victims said the amount an individual survivor may receive from the bankruptcy plan depends on multiple factors relating to the alleged abuse.

The plan calls for the BSA and its local councils, along with settling insurance companies and troop sponsoring organizations, including Catholic institutions and parishes, to contribute to a fund for survivors.

In return, those groups would be shielded from future lawsuits over Scout-related abuse allegations.

More than 80,000 men have filed claims saying they were abused as children by troop leaders around the country.

“Credit to the courageous survivors that this breakthrough in child and scouting safety has been achieved,” said attorney Jeff Anderson, whose firm represented more than 800 Boy Scout abuse survivors.

Anderson said most of the $2.46 billion is to be paid to survivors, but some funds would be set aside in a trust to continue litigation against entities that have not settled, mainly insurance companies.

It will likely take months for any of the abuse claimants to receive compensation.

Anderson said the settlement has drawn mixed reactions from his clients.

Many are proud they stood up and demanded a cleanup of the Irving, Texas-based Boy Scouts, while others feel like they were dismissed because the organization “hid behind the statute of limitations” in some states.

On the national level, the Boy Scouts of America said it is pleased the court has approved its reorganization plan.

“We continue to be enormously grateful to the survivor community, whose bravery, patience, and willingness to share their experiences has been instrumental in the formation of this plan,” the national organization said in a statement.

A federal district judge must sign off on Silberstein’s ruling.

When it filed for bankruptcy, the BSA faced about 275 filed lawsuits and was aware of numerous other potential cases.

More than 80,000 abuse claims were eventually filed as part of the bankruptcy.

Attorneys for BSA insurers argued early on that the sheer volume of claims was an indication of fraud and the result of aggressive client solicitation by attorneys and for-profit claims aggregators.

While some of those insurers later negotiated settlements, other insurers continued to oppose the plan.

They argued that the procedures for distributing funds from the compensation trust would violate their contractual rights to contest claims and set a dangerous precedent for mass litigation.

Independent Newsmedia contributed to this report.