Neither marine officials nor city officials could cite a prior instance of the agency holding such a hearing.

Marine officials said appeals begin in circuit court. But city lawyers said a seldom-used state law allows them to request a formal hearing before the marine commission where subpoenas are issued and lawyers challenge testimony.

Paperwork filed by the city asks the state agency to agree to the hearing by Monday.

The commission voted 6-2 earlier this month to reject the city's request to build an intake pipeline that would draw water from
the Mattaponi River into a 12.2-billion-gallon reservoir. Water planners want to build the reservoir to satisfy the Peninsula's
future water needs.

Wilford Kale, commission spokesman, said officials are consulting with the state Office of the Attorney General about the hearing request.

"What position they will take or the attorney general's office will take, I don't know," said Mayor Joe Frank. "From our side, it
seems pretty clear we have the right."

Frank said such an appeal would allow reservoir supporters to clarify key issues, provide more scientific details and exclude
matters outside the commission's review.

Roy Hoagland, state director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said reservoir supporters are attempting to create a new
public record that favors them by relying on a state law that governs the appeal of fishing licenses, not intake pipelines.

"Newport News is trying to get a second bite at the apple," Hoagland said, "under a statute that doesn't provide for a second
bite."

Newport News requested the formal hearing after meeting with its partners.

Those localities with water utilities - Newport News, Williamsburg and James City and York counties - generally make the
group's decisions. They supported the formal hearing.

York County did not attend the meeting, but County Administrator James "Mac" McReynolds said officials still support the
reservoir. Officials from Hampton and King William County also attended the meeting.

On Tuesday, Frank asked the marine commission to reconsider its vote during its regular monthly meeting. No one made a motion
to do so. Commissioners met behind closed doors to talk about legal matters related to the reservoir.

Also on Tuesday, Newport News City Council decided to continue supporting the reservoir during a closed-door meeting.
Council members later voted to spend $475,000 on other reservoir-related work, upping the project's cost to $19 million.