CLEVELAND — A first-of-its-kind wind project in the country is facing what could be its final legal hurdle in front of the Ohio Supreme Court.

The Icebreaker Wind project would put a series of wind turbines 10 miles off the coast of Lake Erie.

Two Bratenahl residents, though, took issue with the Ohio Power Siting Board’s decision to grant a certification to the project to allow construction.

The residents’ lawyer argued to the Ohio Supreme Court that the board approved the plan without properly determining its environmental impact, especially to birds and bats.

“There is not one person in this court room, or anywhere for that matter, that can tell you how many birds and bats fly through the rotor-swept zone at the project site,” said Mark Tucker, lawyer for W. Susan Dempsey and Robert Maloney. “And we were repeatedly reminded of all the studies that Icebreaker has submitted, the data they’ve collected with regard to bird and bat migration, but no one can deny this fact, there has been no collection of that data at the project site.”

Lawyers for Icebreaker Wind said the board’s decision was based on extensive research, studies and expert testimony that claim the risk was low to the animals.

“The experts had testified and the board acknowledged there was no evidence in front of it indicating that birds were at greater risk due to an offshore facility, but there was evidence that birds might actually be at a lower risk. And that is because there is no nesting habitat, there is no stopover habitat, birds are not going to be defending from their high altitude migration to land at the project site,” said Jonathan Secrest, lawyer for Icebreaker Windpower Inc. 

Lawyers for the board said the law calls for looking at the probable environmental impact, not the actual impact, while the residents argued that should be necessary for the project to get approved.

Both sides now await a decision from the court. Tucker said he’s not sure how long that could take.