(a) The chairs of the boards shall exercise the following powers, authorities and duties:

1. (1) To provide for the management of facilities and personnel of the boards;
2. (2) To employ, terminate and compensate support staff for the boards and to fix the compensation of that staff, which shall be paid out of the State Treasury, upon the requisition of moneys appropriated for such purposes, or from joint funds as the chairs may expend;
3. (3) To the extent permitted by and consistent with federal or state law, to consolidate, combine or contribute funds of the boards to maintain the central physical facilities and technical and support personnel;
4. (4) To the extent permitted by and consistent with federal or state law, to consolidate or combine any functions of the boards;
5. (5) To secure funding with the assistance of the chairs from whatever source permissible by law;
6. (6) To secure office space, purchase materials and supplies, and enter into contracts necessary, incident or convenient to the accomplishment of the purposes of this chapter;
7. (7) To expend funds in the name of any of the boards;
8. (8) To consult with the secretary of the Department of Commerce, labor and environmental resources, or the successor agency or office, or the director of the Division of Environmental Protection who shall cooperate with the chairs in order to effectuate the powers, authorities and duties set forth in this section;
9. (9) To hire individuals, as may be necessary, to serve as hearing examiners for the boards; and
10. (10) To provide for an individual to serve as the clerk to the boards.

(b) The clerk to the boards has the following duties, to be exercised in consultation with the chairs:

1. (1) To schedule meetings and hearings and enter all orders properly acted upon;
2. (2) To receive and send all papers, proceedings, notices, motions and filings;
3. (3) To the maximum extent practicable, and with the cooperation of the staff and hearing examiners, to assist the boards in the case management of appeals and proceedings;
4. (4) To maintain records of all proceedings of the boards which shall be entered in a permanent record, properly indexed, and the same shall be carefully preserved for each board. Copies of orders entered by the boards, as well as copies of papers or documents filed with it, shall be maintained in a central location;
5. (5) To direct and fulfill information requests subject to chapter twenty-nine-b of this code and subject to applicable confidentiality rules set forth in the statutes and rules; and
6. (6) To perform such other duty or function as may be directed by the chairs to carry out the purpose of this chapter.