(a) There is created the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.

(b) The executive head of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality shall be the Director of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. The director shall:

(1) Be appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate;

(2) Be appointed after the Governor consults with the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission; and

(3) Serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

(c)

(1) The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality shall consist of the divisions found in the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission as of July 1, 1971, and any other divisions which may be created by law and placed under the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.

(2) There shall be created a new Division of Environmental Preservation which shall be responsible for reviewing and making specific ecologically oriented recommendations on all plans, programs, and projects of all other state departments, divisions, agencies, and commissions and upon all federal plans, programs, and projects affecting this state. To this end, all other departments, divisions, agencies, and commissions within this state are directed to cooperate with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality in fulfilling the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality's responsibility defined in this chapter.

(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the director, with the advice and consent of the Governor and the commission, from organizing the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality into the divisions and units which may be necessary to effectively and efficiently administer the statutory responsibilities of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.

(d) The director, with the advice and consent of the Governor, shall appoint the heads of the respective divisions. All of the personnel of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality shall be employed by and serve at the pleasure of the director. Nothing in this section shall be so construed as to reduce any right which an employee in the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality shall have under any civil service or merit system.

(e) Each division of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality shall be under the direction, control, and supervision of the director. The director may delegate his or her functions, powers, and duties to various divisions of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality as he or she shall deem desirable and necessary for the effective and efficient operation of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.