FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The plan to use a 100-ton structure to divert oil gushing from one of two holes in riser pipe left behind when the Deepwater Horizon platform sank in the Gulf of Mexico April 22 has been deemed a failure by BP. Officials with the British oil giant had hoped to siphon off 85 percent of the flow through a heated pipe and then pump it to the Enterprise, a ship that was to filter out seawater before oil was transferred it to a tanker vessel.

“It wasn’t as successful as we hoped it would be,” Tony Hayward, BP Group chief executive officer, member of the BP board of directors and head of the BP executive management team, said Monday. “While we figure out what may or may not be possible with a large dome, we are working on a plan to put a small dome in place.”

The large cofferdam, lowered to the Gulf bottom on May 6, was plagued by ice slush buildup inside the concrete and steel structure. The ice crystals were caused by methane hydrates, which are created when pressurized gas from the well interacts with cold seawater.

The slush would have prevented oil from flowing through a pipe connected at the top of the cofferdam. Because a smaller containment chamber would hold less water, it is believed similar icing can be prevented.

“Top hat,”as it is known, is only about four feet wide and five feet tall, and shaped like a whiskey barrel cut in half. It will be placed over the largest of the leaks. The new plan has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and is one of several additional strategies BP is looking at, according to Hayward.

The “hot tap” method would involve cutting into the riser pipe above the well head (but below the existing ruptures) and siphoning off oil from the source.

Another plan dubbed “junk shot,” would use hoses to pump everything except the kitchen sink into the well piping system in an attempt to clog the failed blowout preventer (BOP). Hayward said larger materials such as tire scraps would be among the first pumped into the system, followed by smaller objects such as golf balls. If the BOP clogged as hoped, thick drilling mud would be pumped into the wellbore to stop all flow before concrete is injected to permanently seal it.

Kent Wells, senior vice president of exploration and production at BP America, said he hopes the task will be successfully completed within the next two weeks.

A third option being considered is the installation of an additional BOP or a shutoff valve above the failed BOP.

In the meantime, crews are still in the process of drilling a pressure relief well, and dispersants are being applied at the surface and at the source.

“There will clearly be lessons learned back to the point when the well blew up,” Hayward said. “All of that awaits the conclusion of the investigation.”

Wells stressed that the focus for now must be on shutting off the flow of oil and preventing damage to the Gulf Coast’s fragile ecosystem. He said, “This is an unprecedented challenge. We’ve never had a blowout at 5,000 feet. It will be a little more tricky for us operating the smaller (containment chamber), but we will make it work. We’re trying to focus on the things that will make a difference.”

Hayward noted, “We’ve given carte blanche to states to insure they could move ahead with their protective efforts.” Alabama and the other affected Gulf states each received a $25 million grant from BP.

Gov. Bob Riley was in the area Saturday, meeting with local officials in order to map out plans for use of the money. They agreed the funds will go to communities to help protect vulnerable coastal areas.

Among the officials meeting with Riley were Sen. Trip Pittman, Rep. Steve McMillan, Rep. Randy Davis, Baldwin County Commission Chairman Skip Gruber, Fairhope Mayor Tim Kant, Orange Beach Mayor Tony McKennon, Spanish Fort Mayor Joseph Bonner, Perdido Beach Mayor Patsy Parker, Elberta Mayor Marvin Williams, Magnolia Springs Mayor Charlie Houser and Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft.

Members of the governor’s Cabinet and staff visited Baldwin and Mobile counties last week, where they held meetings with shrimpers, charter boat captains, law enforcement agencies, tourism-related businesses and public officials to keep them updated on the situation and the state’s response.

The governor declared a state of emergency April 30, and directed state agencies to assist communities affected by the oil spill. He also ordered the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency to make appropriate assessments of damage and seek the necessary state, private and federal assistance for affected areas.

Personnel from the Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique (SCAT) team were on Dauphin Island over the weekend, searching for tarballs that washed up along its beaches. Tarballs are chunks of crude oil that has been weathered in the rough waters.

SCAT teams recovered around 30 pounds of tar balls on Saturday that ranged in size from dimes to golf balls. They returned to the beaches on Sunday. Samples of the black substance were sent to Louisiana State University for testing.

Cleanup crews have placed a pom-pom shaped material designed to collect tar balls (known as snare boom) around the island. Reports of tarballs can be made to the U.S. Coast Guard at any time by calling (800) 448-5816.

The first two oiled birds found in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill were cleaned and have recovered. They were released Monday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge on the Atlantic coast, northeast of Vero Beach, Fla.

The birds are a northern gannet and a brown pelican. The gannet, a young male nicknamed “Lucky” by the workers who rescued him, was found April 27 in the Gulf near the source of the leak. Cleanup workers on a boat reached out to him with a pole and he jumped on it.

He was brought to the Bird Rehabilitation Facility at Fort Jackson, La. on April 30. The Tri-State Bird Rescue team, which includes the International Bird Rescue Research Center, evaluated Lucky and found he was about 80 percent oiled, giving him an orange appearance. He was thin and dehydrated, so wildlife veterinarian Dr. Erica Miller gave him intravenous fluids several times, as well as oral fluids and Pepto-Bismol for oil he may have ingested.

He was washed with a mild detergent solution on May 1, and was kept in an outdoor pool for a few days, where he gained weight.

The pelican, also a young male, was found May 3 on Stone Island in Breton Sound on the Louisiana coast by a team that included personnel from FWS, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and the U.S. Minerals Management Service. He was taken to the Fort Jackson facility by helicopter the day he was rescued.

The bird was thin and moderately oiled over his entire body. The Tri-State Bird Rescue Team and Dr. Miller treated him with IV and oral fluids, and started hand-feeding fish to him the first day. He was washed on May 4 and was also kept in an outdoor pool for a few days.

The U.S. Navy is providing assistance to the BP recovery operation in skimming and salvage operations, including the use of 16 Modular Skimming Systems deployed to Gulfport, Miss. Around 1,400 Department of Defense personnel have been deployed in support of spill cleanup and mitigation.

The oil company reports that 5,710 property damage claims have been opened, from which $2.4 million has been disbursed. No claims have been denied so far.

The claims center has 60 operators answering phones, and BP officials say the average wait time is less than a minute. To file a claim, or report spill-related damage, call BP’s helpline at (800) 440-0858. Those who have already pursued the BP claims process and are not satisfied with the company’s resolution should call the Coast Guard at (800) 280-7118.

As many as 10,000 personnel are currently involved in the efforts to protect the shoreline and wildlife. More than 290 vessels are responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges and recovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup efforts — in addition to dozens of aircraft, remotely operated vehicles and multiple mobile offshore drilling units.

Hayward said more than 1 million feet of boom (regular and sorbent) have been deployed to contain the spill to date, and more than 1.3 million feet are available. Nearly 3.5 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been recovered.

Around 325,000 gallons of dispersant have been deployed, with more than 500,000 additional gallons still available.