WASHINGTON — The first major infusion of federal cash from the bipartisan infrastructure law is on its way to states to overhaul the country's aging water infrastructure and dangerous lead pipes.

The Biden administration announced Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency will distribute $7.4 billion to states, tribes and territories for 2022 focused on water infrastructure grants and loan forgiveness. The funding is part of a broader $50 billion investment in water infrastructure from the infrastructure law, which will be doled out over five years.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in an interview that it is the "single largest investment in water infrastructure" in the history of the federal government.

"This law's investment in water is nothing short of transformational," Regan said. "We're less than three weeks post the president signing this, and we're hitting the ground running."