PORT ANGELES — A Washington congressman met with members of the Canadian parliament on Wednesday and urged them to stop dumping raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Rep. Derek Kilmer says the Victoria region in British Columbia across from Port Angeles is home to about 300,000 people. The region has been pumping effluent into the waters across from Washington for years. The Canadian government had planned to build a sewage treatment plant for the region but they’ve tabled the site.

Kilmer met with British Columbia Premier Christy Clark and pressed her to address the issue out of concerns for fisheries, businesses and healthy waters.