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.