Washington state man found guilty of trying to move river

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A Washington state man has been convicted of environmental violations after he used an excavator and a bulldozer to try to fill a section of the Tahuya River and change the waterway's course, the state's top lawyer said on Thursday. A jury in Mason County found William Cayo Sr. guilty on Wednesday of violating water pollution and shoreline management laws as well as conducting prohibited hydraulic activities when he changed a Tahuya River channel in February 2013, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement. "In dodging the proper environmental review and planning, Mr. Cayo did serious damage to the Tahuya River and put fish, wildlife, and his downstream neighbours at risk," Ferguson said. Cayo was charged in Mason County District Court last October. His unauthorized work filled one channel of the river, removed a bend, and deepened and straightened another channel, Ferguson said. Cayo used an excavator and bulldozer to fill and redirect the river near his home, about 50 miles west of Seattle, Ferguson said, adding Cayo filled and graded more than one acre of river bed in total. Under Washington state law, a property owner can work with a county and other agencies to develop "responsible, professional and effective" hydraulic or shoreline projects that protect both private property and natural resources. Cayo faces up to 364 days in jail, a possible restitution order and up to $16,000 in fines, Ferguson said. Sentencing was set for April 17. (Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; editing by Daniel Wallis and David Gregorio)