The National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) was established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Docket No. 11745 (November 19, 1958) and by the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC) in Document 3867/2 (March 26, 1958) to minimize possible harmful interference to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, WV and the radio receiving facilities for the United States Navy in Sugar Grove, WV. The NRQZ is bounded by NAD-83 meridians of longitude at 78d 29m 59.0s W and 80d 29m 59.2s W and latitudes of 37d 30m 0.4s N and 39d 15m 0.4s N, and encloses a land area of approximately 13,000 square miles near the state border between Virginia and West Virginia.
Further information on the NRQZ, including coordination requirements, can be found here.
The West Virginia Radio Astronomy Zone, or WVRAZ, was created as part of the West Virginia Code (§37A-1). Within this region it is illegal to operate, or cause to be operated, any electrical equipment which causes harmful interference with the reception of radio waves. The protection extends at varying levels up to a 10-mile radius, while in the State of WV, from the telescopes on site.
The map below (generated using Google Earth) shows the approximate boundary of the 10-mile (blue circle) and 2-mile (yellow circle) zones described within the WVRAZ Act. It also shows the boundary of the Green Bank Observatory (red), where stricter regulations are in place.
