The attorney representing Bryce Ashley Reed is saying his clientthis week will plead not guilty to a federal charge of possessingan explosive device.

Reed, a West, Texas paramedic, was arrested late last week.According to an affidavit Reed admitted to possessing thecomponents of a pipe bomb. He apparently handed over theingredients—chemical powders, a fuse, a lighter, a digital scaleand other items—to an acquaintance.

Reed responded to the massive explosion last month at WestFertilizer Co. in West that killed 15 people, wounded hundreds ofothers and damaged or destroyed 140 homes, an apartment complex,two schools, a retirement center and local businesses.

Authorities have not linked Reed to the blast at the fertilizerretailer in the small rural community of about 2,800.

His lawyer says Reed had “no involvement whatsoever in theexplosion at the West, Texas fertilizer plant.”

Several hours after the arrest was made public, authorities saida criminal investigation was launched into circumstancessurrounding the massive explosion on April 17.

I'm wondering how this could change the public's perception ofthis unfortunate disaster in Texas.

In the weeks following the blast, various news agencies haveunveiled a patchwork regulation for facilities such as WestFertilizer, which stored hundreds of tons of the highly-volatilechemical compound ammonium nitrate at the site.

West Fertilizer, or its parent company Adair Grain, did notnotify the Department of Homeland Security it possessed so muchammonium nitrate—as facilities dealing with this quantity of thesubstance are required. In fact, it seemed no one who outsidersmight assume should have known, did know muchabout this facility site.

The Texas Department of Insurance says four (4!) state agencieswith some oversight (as in maybe, maybe not and to what extentis not particularly known) of facilties like West Fertilizerdo not require general liability coverage.

The search for information and answers following this explosionwas not easy. Still isn't. There was a lot of finger-pointing atthe start—many referrals. “Maybe you should try [fill in theblank]. Yeah, call them.” Or worse, “Call the plant.”

Turns out (so it would seem) no one was intentionallyscapegoating. Because no one actually knew who to call. Fordays and days after this tragedy, I was getting as many calls andemails seeking answers as I was making to get them myself. Inthis case, when a community is literally rocked and itswell-being is at stake, that is terrifying.

Ammonium nitrate is the same type of stuff Timothy McVeighused to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995—storedwithin quick walking distance to a middle school entrance.

Gov. Rick Perry has been heavily criticized, with localeditorialists citing his movement toward what some may callover-the-top deregulation in an effort to lure businesses to Texas.It's worked, apparently.

Meanwhile, federal and state lawmakers have called for intensedebate regarding the oversight and regulation of facilitieslike West Fertilizer.

But will this soap-boxing stand up against thepotential that the explosion at this facility was no accident?Does political outrage wane? Do reporters turn to exposing Reed inevery way imaginable?

Say authorities find enough on Reed to connect him to the firethat eventually led to the explosion at the plant.

All the points regarding holes in insurance requirements,workplace safety, risk management, oversight, and land-use planningremain as firm as the days prior to us learning ofReed. But do they persist against a backdrop of what could bea criminal act?

If and when the West Fertilizer explosion fades as a springboardfor change, will change indeed occur?

My inkling in Texas (again, creating a hypotheticalscenario in which Reed is to blame) is that no matter how much youattempt to convince those responsible for change the disasteras we knew it before Reed entered the picture could havehappened and still exposes a multitude of inadequacies inthe system, folks would shoot back with, “It hadn't happened inX-number of many years and it wouldn't have happenedwithout a guy planting an explosive device.”

As it is, the earth-shattering blast in West seems to have donelittle to sway the local perception of government regulations, atleast according to what I have read in local Texas media.

Whether a young paramedic is tied to this disaster, I'm hopingthe journalism world continues to reveal the roots of theunderlying problems that seem to permeate the state. And I hopelawmakers continue to demand answers and seek solutions.

I'm no proponent of burdensome regulation. But it just seemsthis disaster screams for any measures put in place with the intentto prevent something like it from happening again. And no matterthe outcome of the criminal investigation—no matter how this siteand its incredible dangers were exposed—that will remain true.