An environmental think-tank is concerned with Alberta regulatory changes that will allow certain oil companies to make changes to their projects without the public's knowledge.

Alberta's energy regulator no longer requires in-situ oil companies to let people know about all the amendments they make to their wells.

Instead, the Energy Resources Conservation Board will decide which changes require public consultation and which don't.

Pembina Institute spokesman Chris Severson-Baker says that leaves an important factor out of the discussions.

"A project could change quite significantly without the public knowing about it, or being able to express their argument for why that should be considered a significant adverse environmental impact," he said. "It just reduces the opportunity for the public to have a say in how the developments are being done."

The decision sets a dangerous precedent, he added.

"We are experiencing a time when more regulations to deal with the growing environmental impacts from the oilsands are needed," he said.

"There are calls for that throughout Canada and internationally, and yet the government is putting all of its efforts into streamlining the regulatory system, making it easier for companies to get approvals and that seems to be a misplaced priority."

A spokesperson for the ERCB said the changes actually make it less confusing for the public because landowners won't be bombarded with notifications on small decisions.

Instead, people will only be told about major changes to the environment and public safety.

In-situ oil companies inject steam into the deposit to heat the oil sand, lowering the viscosity of the bitumen. The hot bitumen migrates toward producing wells, bringing it to the surface, while the sand is left in place ("in situ" is Latin for "in place").

About 40 projects have been approved to date, containing more than 200 wells.