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Jersey Shore rivers and muddy beaches of Avalon on August 2008.Thomas McFarland, 60, and Wynnewood, is responsible for illegal discharges of pollutants and the disposal of medical waste. The researchers said dumped a bag containing 260 used syringes, cotton swabs for 180, and others in his practice out of his Boston whaler boat Townsends Inlet on August 22, 2008.Less past two weeks before Labor Day, on top of the tourist season, officials are close to beaches Avalon washed five days of trash. Similar debris out on the coast of Atlantic City to Cape May to force closings during the same period, but the researchers are not associated with these materials McFarland.

If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in state prison, with no chance of parole for at least five years, Judge Raymond Batten said yesterday during a brief pretrial conference.During the hearing, it was revealed that McFarland had declined a plea agreement offered by the state Attorney General's Office, which is prosecuting the case. Under the agreement, he would be placed on probation and not serve jail time.McFarland's attorney, Carl Poplar, who attended the hearing, declined to comment later on why his client hadn't taken the plea deal. McFarland, who attended with his wife, also had no comment.

Investigators linked McFarland to the waste by using serial numbers on the syringes. Police searched his home dental office and obtained additional evidence.The dentist, who owns a summer house in the Avalon Manor section of Middle Township, walked into the Avalon Police Department about two weeks after the waste began to wash up and confessed, police said at the time.In March, he pleaded not guilty in an attempt to enter a pretrial intervention program that could have reduced his sentence and wiped his record clean.

State Deputy Attorney General Edward Bonanno opposed McFarland's entering the program, arguing that his alleged actions could have had a "devastating impact" on the Shore's economy. The medical waste triggered bad memories of the 1980s, when pollution washed up on New Jersey beaches and threatened the state's tourism economy.If convicted, McFarland would not likely serve much, if any, jail time because the charges are third-degree offenses and he has no criminal record, Bonanno conceded yesterday. But the state is pursuing the case because of the "very serious nature of what happened," he saidWe just want to see justice done and make it clear to the people of this area that we want to keep our waterways protected and safe," Bonanno saidBatten said he would extend the plea offer to March 15 and told Poplar and Bonanno that they "should not be shy" in contacting him "should circumstances change" before the April 26 trial.The judge disclosed that he was acquainted with two people on the state's witness list, including Avalon's mayor and the town's beach patrol captain, who once hired Batten as a lifeguard. Neither side called for Batten to recuse himself from the jury trial, which is expected to last about two weeks