(a) Proprietary data, information, and samples submitted to BOEM pursuant to the requirements of this part shall be made available for inspection by representatives of adjacent State(s) upon request by the Governor(s) in accordance with paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section.

(b) Disclosure shall occur only after the Governor has entered into an agreement with the Secretary providing that:

(1) The confidentiality of the information shall be maintained;

(2) In any action commenced against the Federal Government or the State for failure to protect the confidentiality of proprietary information, the Federal Government or the State, as the case may be, may not raise as a defense any claim of sovereign immunity or any claim that the employee who revealed the proprietary information, which is the basis of the suit, was acting outside the scope of the person's employment in revealing the information;

(3) The State agrees to hold the United States harmless for any violation by the State or its employees or contractors of the agreement to protect the confidentiality of proprietary data, information, and samples; and

(c) The data, information, and samples available for inspection by representatives of adjacent State(s) pursuant to an agreement shall be related to leased lands.