By Raymond Lesniak

Protecting our environment, growing our economy and creating jobs can grow hand in hand if we adopt my NJGROW Healthy plan to make New Jersey fossil fuel free by 2050, invest in mass transit, and require strong vehicle emissions standards.

I have sponsored the most important environmental protection laws in the nation. Here's what I would do as governor to continue to protect our environment, grow our economy and stand up to President Trump's assault on environmental protection:

Overturn ExxonMobil settlement

Oral argument will be heard May 23 on my appeal of Gov. Chris Christie's settlement of a $8.9 billion damage claim for $225 million against ExxonMobil. I've sued Exxon and the NJ petrochemical industry in federal district court in the past and won to make them pay to cleanup abandoned hazardous waste sites. That victory and my sponsorship of the Environmental Cleanup Responsibility Act have cleaned up tens of thousands of contaminated sites and saved New Jersey from an environmental disaster.

Stop the pipelines and make New Jersey fossil fuel free by 2050

Three proposed natural gas and oil pipelines, Penn East, South Jersey Gas and Pilgrim Oil present serious environmental hazards and conflict with my goal to make New Jersey fossil fuel free my 2050. If allowed to be built, New Jersey will be committed to fossil fuel for another century.

New Jersey has the 10th highest energy costs in the nation and is the 16th highest emitter of carbon. Our reliance on fossil fuels is 98.2 percent costing every homeowner an average of $3,000 a year which will continue to grow as fossil fuel plants age and require more investment.

Gubernatorial candidate Ray Lesniak talks to Tom Moran for a Star-Ledger editorial board meeting. Posted by NJ.com Opinion on Wednesday, May 3, 2017

New Jersey's cost of energy, health care costs from pollution, maintaining a distribution system often disrupted and needing increased expense from storm damage will continue to increase.

Here's my solution to make New Jersey fossil fuel free by 2050:

Stop The Pinelands, PennEast and Pilgrim Pipelines. Not only will they threaten to contaminate our water supply and disrupt pristine private and public lands, they will commit New Jersey to a future of reliance on fossil fuels and consume $billions of investment that should go to producing solar and wind energy and energy efficiency.

Create jobs: Engineers, technology developers, solar and wind construction jobs and maintenance and energy efficiency installers.

Air quality and health: Replacing aging fossil fuel plants with clean solar and wind and lowering demand with energy efficiency will enhance our quality of life and improve productivity with lower sick days and time off from work.

Revise the state's Energy Master Plan to promote renewable energy. (Christie revised it to promote natural gas usage.)

Eliminate threats to our drinking water

Christie has ignored 12 testing recommendations of hazardous contaminants by the Drinking Water Quality Institute established under my Safe Drinking Water Act. I will have my DEP commissioner adopt them as soon as I'm sworn in as governor.

Get the lead out

Priority funding must be appropriated to replace lead lined pipes in school districts and remove lead paint in public housing.

Get back into RGGI

Christie withdrew New Jersey from this 10 state compact to trap and reduce CO2 emissions hurting our air quality and costing more than $100 million of revenue from the sale of emission allowances which would have promoted clean energy initiatives.

Clean cars and trucks and investing in mass transit

The No. 1 contributor to pollution in New Jersey comes from cars and trucks. A recent MIT study reported that 200,000 U.S .residents a year die from CO2 emissions from vehicles. NJ must adopt California's strict vehicle emissions standards and invest in a world class mass transit system.

Water and sewer infrastructure

A ticking time bomb that threatens the health, safety and quality of life of residents in communities throughout the state. A multi-billion dollar bond initiative must be passed before the threat of sewer overflow and contaminated water becomes a reality.

Germany, one of the world's most productive economies, has already achieved fossil fuel freedom. As governor, I will lead New Jersey in that direction and protect the safety of our drinking water and reduce air pollution.

Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) is a state senator and a candidate for governor of New Jersey.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.