A broad coalition of environmental groups on Tuesday pressed the Senate to move ahead this year on energy and climate change legislation that is at risk of falling victim to a fight over immigration reform.

Thirty-one groups sent a letter to senators that urges them “not to squander the great promise of bipartisan action we've witnessed over the last six months” and calls for floor action in June.

Groups backing the letter include the Sierra Club, the Al Gore-founded Alliance for Climate Protection, the Environmental Defense Fund and many others. “The Senate has a profound responsibility to future generations to enact policies that enhance our economic, environmental and national security,” they write.

* Sen. Lindsey Graham says he won't support climate bill if Democrats push immigration

Backers of a sweeping energy and climate bill sought to bring Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) back into the fold yesterday after he threatened to bolt over a push by Democrats on an immigration reform bill. Ben’s post from last night has to be discouraging to many of them. 

Ben writes: “Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday that moving to immigration reform this year, even if it comes up after the energy and climate measure he’s co-authoring, would constitute a breach of faith.” The comments suggest that Graham will “continue to withhold support for moving ahead with the energy plan as long as Democratic leaders keep immigration reform on the table at all this year.” 

Graham’s threat to back out of climate change talks may not be endearing himself to environmental groups and companies that have spent months negotiating its contents. But it has raised the public profile of a man who has been the focus of the White House for months. 

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Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) insisted Monday that the Senate could still take up climate change legislation before immigration reform.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday that moving to immigration reform this year, even if it comes up after the energy and climate measure he’s co-authoring, would constitute a breach of faith.

Graham in recent days had slammed the possibility of Democratic leaders pushing immigration before the energy bill he's crafting with Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).

His comments Monday, however, suggest that Graham will continue to withhold support for moving ahead with the energy plan as long as Democratic leaders keep immigration reform on the table at all this year.

Lieberman had sought to assuage Graham’s concerns Monday by emphasizing that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told him he was open to moving whichever bill is ready first. Lieberman said Reid knows the energy bill is ready and the immigration plan is not.

A range of environmental and business groups are urging the Senate not to abandon a sweeping climate change and energy bill that’s at risk of falling victim to partisan battles over immigration reform.

Various groups issued a flurry of statements over the weekend and Monday after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) – one of the energy bill’s authors – threatened to abandon the measure if Democrats move an immigration bill first. Losing Graham would likely be a fatal blow to the bill's chances this year.

The U.S. Climate Action Partnership on Monday afternoon called on the Senate to make a climate and energy bill a “top priority” this year. The group combines several large environmental groups and major corporations, including General Electric, Shell Oil and the Big Three Detroit automakers.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said a climate bill could still be debated before immigration legislation.

The group Republicans for Environmental Protection on Monday said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would be placing his reelection campaign above “the welfare of our nation” if he tries to move an immigration bill ahead of climate legislation.

"If Harry Reid goes through with his surprising talk of pushing immigration reform ahead of climate and energy, he will be putting his own political interests above addressing energy and climate challenges that threaten our nation and the world," said David Jenkins, the group’s vice president for government and political affairs.

Reid faces a difficult reelection race this fall, and given the number of Hispanic voters in his state, it is thought that a push for immigration reform might benefit him.

Sens. Kerry, Graham and Lieberman plan to meet Monday after talking about the issue over the weekend.

* East Coast governors want Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to approve the Cape Wind project

Salazar plans to make a final decision this month about whether to allow the controversial offshore wind project – slated for Nantucket Sound off the Massachusetts coast – to proceed.

“The governors of six East Coast states called on Mr. Salazar last week to approve the project, which is proposed by Cape Wind Associates and would be the nation’s first offshore wind farm. Turning it down, they said, especially on the grounds that it would harm the view from historic sites, ‘would establish a precedent that would make it difficult, if not impossible, to site offshore wind projects anywhere along the Eastern Seaboard,’” the New York Times reports.