# Woodbury, Minnesota *City in Washington County, Minnesota, eight miles east of Saint Paul.* Woodbury is a city in [[Washington County, Minnesota]]. It lies on [[Interstate 94]] about eight miles (13 km) east of Saint Paul and belongs to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.[^1] The city had 75,102 residents at the 2020 census and an estimated 81,558 in 2025, which ranks it seventh in population among cities in [[Minnesota]].[^1] Woodbury became a village on March 7, 1967, after a 543–164 incorporation vote. In the same year the [[Legislature]] created the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]]. The project's at-issue record pairs the two events and describes Woodbury as the county's largest city.[^2][^1] The 3M Woodbury Disposal Site is one of the four sites in the State's East Metro PFAS record. It is also one of the four sites named in the State's complaint against 3M.[^3][^4] The [[Minnesota Department of Health]]'s history of its PFAS work states that 3M disclosed the disposal locations, including "the 3M-Woodbury Disposal Site," to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in 2002–2004.[^5] The MPCA's FY2025 legislative report lists $251,960,201 in community project funding for Woodbury, the largest total among the communities it lists.[^6] ## Who The city has a weak-mayor, mayor-council form of government. Two council members are elected at large in presidential election years. A mayor and two at-large council members are elected in midterm years. As of the Wikipedia revision retrieved on October 27, 2026, the council consisted of Mayor Anne Burt, Steve Morris, Jennifer Santini, Kim Wilson and Donna Stafford.[^1] The same source records that the city has moved toward the Democratic and Democratic-Farmer-Labor parties. It has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.[^1] Several public officials are listed among the city's notable people:[^1] - [[Michelle Fischbach]], U.S. Representative for Minnesota's Seventh Congressional District - Susan Kent, Minnesota State Senate minority leader - Jason Lewis, former U.S. Representative for the Second District - Kelly Fenton and Walt Perlt, state representatives - Nicole Mitchell, meteorologist and politician - Mary Giuliani Stephens, former mayor ## What The MPCA lists four sites in the East Metro 3M PFAS contamination: - 3M Oakdale - 3M Woodbury - 3M Cottage Grove (Chemolite) - the [[Washington County Landfill]] The agency describes the contamination as spanning "more than 150 square miles" and affecting the drinking water of "more than 140,000 Minnesotans." It handles the county landfill under the state Closed Landfill Program rather than Superfund.[^3] In *State of Minnesota v. 3M Company*, [[Hennepin County District Court]] No. 27-CV-10-28862, the State sues as trustee under Minn. Stat. § 115B.04.[^4][^7] The complaint pleads six counts: - MERLA - the Minnesota Water Pollution Control Act - trespass - common-law nuisance - statutory nuisance - negligence It names four sites: 3M Cottage Grove, the [[Oakdale Disposal Site]], the 3M Woodbury Disposal Site and the Washington County Landfill in [[Lake Elmo]]. It names four chemicals: PFOA, PFOS, PFBA and PFBS.[^4] The State's trial exhibit PTX1872 is a 3M corporate document produced in the litigation. It gives the years of use for the Woodbury disposal location as 1960–1965 and for the Oakdale location as 1956–1960.[^8] The pack does not record the case's disposition. Later State documents refer to a "3M settlement" that funds east-metro drinking-water projects through an MPCA/3M Settlement [[Working Group]].[^9][^10] ## When - **1844:** The land was settled under the name Red Rock.[^11] - **1858:** A township government was organized.[^11] - **1859:** The township took the name Woodbury.[^11] The name honors [[Levi Woodbury]], the first [[Supreme Court of the United States]] justice to have attended law school. The township was renamed because Minnesota already had another Red Rock Township.[^1] - **1955:** Woodbury Heights, the first suburban subdivision, broke ground.[^1] - **1963:** The first formal incorporation proposal came after two years of debate.[^1] - **February 14, 1967:** Voters approved incorporation, 543–164.[^1] - **March 7, 1967:** The village was officially incorporated.[^1] The MPCA dates PFAS disposal at the four east-metro sites "from the 1950s through the early 1970s."[^3] The Department of Health records that 3M disclosed the disposal locations in 2002–2004. In 2004, seven wells in Lake Elmo near the former county landfill tested positive for PFOA.[^5] The same Department of Health history traces its health-based value for PFOA from 7 µg/L in 2002 to 0.0000079 µg/L in January 2024.[^5] Later dates in the record: - **1994:** A State Farm Insurance building opened in Woodbury.[^1] - **2006:** State Farm moved the operation to Lincoln, Nebraska.[^1] - **2015:** The building was demolished for redevelopment.[^1] - **November 7, 2024:** Woodbury broke ground on a PFAS treatment plant, according to trade press.[^10] - **March 22, 2025:** Gold Line bus rapid transit service began.[^12] The Working Group's Fall 2025 notes estimate the transition back to the [[2007 Consent Order]] "to be in the second half of calendar year 2027."[^9] ## Where The [[United States Census Bureau]] gives the city's area as 35.722 square miles (92.52 km²). Of that, 34.895 square miles is land and 0.827 square miles (2.32%) is water.[^1] The city's boundaries are: - **North:** Interstate 94 - **South:** the line of 60th Street South - **West:** Century Avenue - **East:** Manning Avenue Its neighbors include [[Oakdale]], Lake Elmo, [[Cottage Grove]], Maplewood, Newport and Afton.[^1] The city sits on upland between the [[Mississippi River]] and St. Croix River valleys. Its northeast corner drains to Valley Creek, a trout stream that flows east to the St. Croix at Afton.[^1] The Gold Line runs 10 miles, with 16 stations, from downtown Saint Paul to Woodbury by way of Oakdale. About 70% of the route uses dedicated bus-only lanes.[^12] ## How The Minnesota Municipal Commission had found that fragmented suburban growth made it harder to coordinate sewers, water systems and other utilities. It therefore encouraged full incorporation.[^1] The commission also promoted a joint incorporation of Woodbury and Cottage Grove as the Village of Washington, and both town boards agreed to put the question to voters.[^1] The Woodbury PFAS plant is designed to treat 32 million gallons per day and can be expanded to 48. It includes about 27 km of new piping and was designed by Jacobs with AE2S. Trade press reports that it is funded primarily by the 3M settlement.[^10] The Working Group's Fall 2025 notes list the Woodbury and Hastings projects as under construction and over budget. The same notes list Cottage Grove and Oakdale as on temporary systems.[^9] ## How much The MPCA's FY2025 legislative report lists these community project funding totals:[^6] | Community | Funding | |---|---| | Woodbury | $251,960,201 | | Cottage Grove | $110,224,231 | | Lake Elmo | $2,353,000 | | Newport | $1,918,950 | | [[Hastings]] | $1,440,500 | | **Total key projects** | **$369,316,077** | The Fall 2025 Working Group notes record the following:[^9] - cumulative capital commitments of $515 million - an estimated need of $575 million by the end of FY2026 - a capital shortfall of about $26 million - about $137 million projected to be unobligated at the end of FY2026 Trade press estimates the Woodbury plant at about $300–350 million. That is a project-cost estimate, not the MPCA's funding figure, and the pack does not reconcile the two.[^10][^6] The Gold Line cost $505.3 million in total. It was funded as follows:[^12] - Federal Transit Administration: about 45% (about $249 million) - Ramsey County: 26% - Washington County: 26% - [[Counties Transit Improvement Board]]: 1.5% - Federal Highway Administration: 1% - State of Minnesota: 0.5% ## How many At the 2020 census the city had 75,102 residents in 27,290 households and 19,947 families. The median age was 38.3. There were 28,304 housing units, of which 3.6% stood vacant.[^1] The 2010 census had counted 61,961 people.[^1] The city maintains 63 parks covering about 3,600 acres, linked by roughly 180 miles of trails.[^1] The State Farm facility employed about 2,000 people before its 2006 relocation.[^1] Twelve elementary schools in three districts serve the city. East Ridge High School, the South Washington County district's third high school, opened in September 2009.[^1] ## In the at-issue record The at-issue pair AI-Washington-085 sets Woodbury's 1967 incorporation beside the Legislature's creation of the Metropolitan Council in the same year. The pair states: "The county's largest city and the body that would plan it were chartered in the same twelve months."[^2] The pair anchors the creation date to the Council's own founding chronology.[^2] The pair gives March 7, 1967 as the date of incorporation by the 543–164 vote. Wikipedia separates the two dates: the vote took place on February 14, 1967, and incorporation took effect on March 7.[^1][^11] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Woodbury, Minnesota* (revision 1378279208, retrieved 2026-10-27), CC BY-SA 4.0 — population, area, boundaries, history, incorporation vote and date, government, economy, education, parks and notable people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodbury,_Minnesota [^2]: Metropolitan Council, *History of the Metropolitan Council* — the agency's own founding chronology, cited for the Legislature's 1967 creation of the Council. https://metrocouncil.org/About-Us/What-We-Do/History-of-the-Metropolitan-Council.aspx [^3]: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, *East Metro 3M PFAS Contamination* — the four sites, including 3M Woodbury; area and drinking-water population affected; disposal dates; Closed Landfill Program status of the county landfill. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/local-sites-and-projects/east-metro-3m-pfas-contamination [^4]: Hennepin County District Court, *State of Minnesota v. 3M Company*, Complaint, No. 27-CV-10-28862 — six counts, trustee standing under Minn. Stat. § 115B.04, four sites including the 3M Woodbury Disposal Site, four chemicals. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/Complaint.pdf [^5]: Minnesota Department of Health, *History of MDH PFAS activities* — 3M's 2002–2004 disclosure of disposal locations; 2004 Lake Elmo well results; health-based-value chronology for PFOA. https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/hazardous/topics/history.html [^6]: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, *FY2025 PFC legislative report* — community project funding totals by city and total key projects. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/lrc-pfc-2sy25.pdf [^7]: Minnesota Attorney General, *State of Minnesota v. 3M* case page — case documents for Hennepin County No. 27-CV-10-28862. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/ [^8]: 3M Company, *Off-Site Waste Disposal Locations — 3M Cottage Grove*, State's trial exhibit PTX1872 — disposal locations and years of use as printed, including Woodbury 1960–1965 and Oakdale 1956–1960. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/PTX/PTX1872.pdf [^9]: MPCA / 3M Settlement Working Group, *Fall 2025 meeting notes* (December 2025) — capital commitments, estimated need, shortfall, unobligated funds, project status, and the estimated transition to the 2007 Consent Order. https://3msettlement.state.mn.us/sites/3msettlement/files/2025-12/Fall%202025%20-%20Notes.pdf [^10]: Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine, *Jacobs PFAS removal water treatment project breaks ground in Minnesota* (trade press) — November 7, 2024 groundbreaking, capacity, piping, designers, estimated cost, settlement funding. https://esemag.com/water/jacobs-pfas-removal-water-treatment-project-breaks-ground-in-minnesota/ [^11]: City of Woodbury, *History of Woodbury* — settlement in 1844 as Red Rock, township government organized in 1858, renamed Woodbury in 1859. https://www.woodburymn.gov/722/History-of-Woodbury [^12]: Metro Transit, *Gold Line facts* — total cost $505.3 million and funding shares, 10 miles and 16 stations, bus-only lanes, service beginning March 22, 2025. https://www.metrotransit.org/gold-line-facts