33 USC 1513 – Public access to information
(a) Inspection of copies; reproduction costs; protected information
Copies of any communication, document, report, or information transmitted between any official of the Federal Government and any person concerning a deepwater port (other than contracts referred to in section 1504(c)(2)(B) of this title) shall be made available to the public for inspection, and shall be available for the purpose of reproduction at a reasonable cost, to the public upon identifiable request, unless such information may not be publicly released under the terms of subsection (b) of this section. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to require the release of any information of the kind described in subsection (b) of section 552 of title 5 or which is otherwise protected by law from disclosure to the public.
(b) Information disclosure prohibition; confidentiality of certain disclosures
Terms Used In 33 USC 1513
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- person: includes an individual, a public or private corporation, a partnership or other association, or a government entity. See 33 USC 1502
- Secretary: means the Secretary of Transportation. See 33 USC 1502
- State: includes each of the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories and possessions of the United States. See 33 USC 1502
- writing: includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. See 1 USC 1
The Secretary shall not disclose information obtained by him under this chapter that concerns or relates to a trade secret, referred to in section 1905 of title 18, or to a contract referred to in section 1504(c)(2)(B) of this title, except that such information may be disclosed, in a manner which is designed to maintain confidentiality—
(1) to other Federal and adjacent coastal State government departments and agencies for official use, upon request;
(2) to any committee of Congress having jurisdiction over the subject matter to which the information relates, upon request;
(3) to any person in any judicial proceeding, under a court order formulated to preserve such confidentiality without impairing the proceedings; and
(4) to the public in order to protect health and safety, after notice and opportunity for comment in writing or for discussion in closed session within fifteen days by the party to which the information pertains (if the delay resulting from such notice and opportunity for comment would not be detrimental to the public health and safety).