Serious industrial, economic, and tax-related transformations have left the archipelago of Puerto Rico with a vast number of vacant, abandoned, and idle properties resulting on a series of environmental, social, legal, and economic issues in several communities. Performing environmental assessments on these properties have proven to be a key factor to assist in the removal of these issues, allowing the possibility for redevelopment and revitalization of the impacted communities. Over the past years, the Autonomous Municipality of Caguas (AMC) along with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed many policy innovations and financial incentives to aid in environmental assessments, remediation, and redevelopment of these properties. Located in Central Puerto Rico, and with a population of 142,893 inhabitants, according to Puerto Rico: 2010 census, this municipality has experienced rapid population and urban growth during the last decade, making it difficult for the local government to provide adequate services to all its residents. In Puerto Rico approximately 41.5% of the families live below poverty level, and the unemployment rate is 11.9%. For the AMC, 37.3% of the families live below poverty level and the unemployment rate is 9.8%. In 2009, the AMC received $400,000 through two brownfields grants from the EPA to perform environmental assessments on brownfield properties, related to hazardous substances and petroleum derivate. Between the two phases of the Brownfields Program, the AMC identified over 40 potential brownfield properties, such as abandoned industries, retail shops, restaurants and commercial buildings, from which 14 were assessed using a metric and a special scoring methodology (using ARCADIS

The implementation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System-Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems, or NPDES-MS4 permits, represents a real challenge to cities around the United States of America and its territories. Such is the case in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which is undergoing a serious financial crisis in most of its municipalities due to industrial, economic, and tax-related transformations. This crisis, along with rigorous environmental laws and regulations at the federal level, require municipal governments to prioritize where to invest their limited funding for the improvement of their jurisdiction's environmental quality. In addition, the intrinsic natural, economic and social characteristics of this US territory in the Caribbean make the enforcement of the NPDES-MS4 program extremely challenging. The allocation of both human and economic resources to comply with the regulations requires new approaches and strategies, as is integrating technology and web-based tools for a more efficient use of time as well as financial accountability. The use of technological devices and programs is critical to advance in the implementation of compliance programs. Easily operated software or equipment proves to be effective in helping municipalities to strengthen their local enforcement ordinances, which are a key element for the success of the NPDES-MS4. Since 2015, we have identified and categorized over 1,000 illegal discharges in twelve municipalities. Integrating modern tools, such as the web-based permit managers, has provided municipalities with a much-needed capability to address efficiently some of the environmental issues we face now a day. The flexibility offered by the new technology has proven very effective helping municipalities to establish a robust data management strategy aimed to implement their environmental permits while saving thousands of dollars on inspection costs.