N.J. Stat. § 13:20-4
There is hereby established a public body corporate and politic, with corporate succession, to be known as the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council." The council shall constitute a political subdivision of the State established as an instrumentality exercising public and essential governmental functions, and the exercise by the council of the powers and duties conferred by this act shall be deemed and held to be an essential governmental function of the State. For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the council is hereby allocated within the Department of Environmental Protection, but, notwithstanding that allocation, the council shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or by the commissioner or any officer or employee thereof.
N.J.S. § 13:20-4