Oil pollutes the water on Elmers Island on May 22, 2010. (Thaisi H. Da Silva/NYT Institute)

After contentious debate between the Environmental Protection Agency and BP regarding its use of a particular dispersant in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has agreed to lessen the amount it is using to help clean up the massive oil spill.

“They’ve asked us to scale back on the amount we’re using,” said Graham MacEwen, a spokesman for BP. He said the company made the decision Tuesday to comply with the EPA’s request.

BP will cut back its use of the dispersant Corexit, which it has been spraying in the Gulf, by 50 to 75 percent, MacEwen said. He said the company would make up for the decrease in the chemical’s use by increasing skimming the oil off the water and the laying of booms to block the oil.

The EPA feared that Corexit contained high levels of toxicity and offered a list of dispersants it deemed safe. MacEwen said BP didn’t use any of those because it couldn’t get them in the quantities required for the large-scale cleanup.

Meanwhile, in Jackson, Miss., thousands attended a memorial service for the 11 rig workers killed in the Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20. The men were honored in a memorial service with tributes from country music stars and drilling company executives.

“This is the one of the most difficult days for many of us here,” said Steven Newman, chief executive of Transocean Ltd., the Swiss-based owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig. “But for the families of our 11 lost colleagues, this is just another of many difficult days.”

A new report from the Interior Department’s acting inspector general found that an inspector for the Minerals Management Service, which oversees oil-well drilling, admitted using crystal methamphetamine and said he might have been under the influence of the drug at work. The report cited a variety of violations of federal regulations and ethics rules at the agency’s Louisiana office, which has jurisdiction over the Deepwater Horizon well.

On Wednesday, BP will try to stop the leak with a “top kill” of the well. It includes pumping heavy drilling mud through a device that sits atop the oil-well opening at the sea floor, plugging the leak. BP began testing the “top kill” method Tuesday. If that fails, cement will be used instead.

The top kill method has been used before by BP, but never at the depths where the Deepwater Horizon well is leaking, nearly a mile below sea level. The chances of success are 60 to 70 percent, The Associated Press reported.

Earlier Tuesday, BP told the House subcommittee on energy and the environment that the company would be blacking out its live television feed during the top kill procedure on Wednesday. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., blasted BP, saying, “This BP blackout will obscure a vital moment in this disaster.” Later in day, the company backpedaled and said the live feed would continue.

On Friday, President Barack Obama will be making his second trip to Louisiana since the spill, following a host of administration officials who have come to the state.

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