Seeking to collect almost $3 million, North Dakota State University is asking the state Supreme Court for help in reversing two insurers' denial of damage claims from a heavy summer rainstorm four years ago.

Attorneys for NDSU, the state Fire and Tornado Fund and the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co. argued Wednesday about whether surface water was to blame for damage to NSDU's heating plant and computer center in June 2000.

The damage resulted from an overnight deluge that dumped more than 7 inches of rain on Fargo, and left 81/2 feet of water on the Fargodome arena floor. The water, after building up in the Fargodome and a steam tunnel over several hours, later gushed through the tunnel and into NDSU's heating plant and computer center, court records indicate.

NDSU filed a $2.9 million damage claim for the computer center, and a $79,371 claim for heating plant repairs. Both the Fire and Tornado Fund and the Hartford insurer, which is based in Hartford, Conn., denied the claims, saying the damage was caused by surface water.

The "surface water" term is important because NDSU's policies did not cover damage caused by surface water or flooding. Judge Ronald Goodman agreed with the companies, ruling in June 2003 that the damage to the two buildings was not covered by insurance. NDSU appealed.

In Supreme Court arguments on Wednesday, NDSU attorney Sara Gullickson McGrane contended the water that damaged the two buildings did not meet the legal definitions of surface water or flood water, thus the insurance companies should pay for repairs.

The water did not qualify as surface water because it flowed into the Fargodome and through the steam tunnel before it reached NDSU, McGrane said. Water from the rainstorm itself did not damage the heating plant or the computer center, she said.

"The surface water entered a separate facility - the Fargodome - then entered an underground steam tunnel, and then came out in the university, seven hours later," McGrane said.

"But then it wasn't surface water anymore?" Supreme Court Justice William Neumann asked.

"No, it wasn't," McGrane replied.

Leo Wilking, an attorney for the Fire and Tornado Fund, said McGrane's argument made sense only if a regular water channel brought the water into the buildings.