React Native .env doesn't seem to work with firebase apiKey

It's been a little while since I've created a React Native project and I just started a new one today. I've gotten firebase set up, installed react-native-dotenv, and created a .env file with all of my firebase project variables. I've triple checked to be sure the apiKey is correct (I copy pasted it when I created the firebase project anyway), and the last time I've done something like this that was all I needed to do to get it to work. So here's what I have:

firebase.js

import { initializeApp } from 'firebase/app';
import { getFirestore } from 'firebase/firestore';
import { getAuth, onAuthStateChanged } from 'firebase/auth';

// Firebase changed up how it works since v9
// https://travis.media/how-to-use-firebase-with-react/

const firebaseConfig = {
    apiKey: process.env.REACT_APP_FIREBASE_API_KEY,
    authDomain: process.env.REACT_APP_FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN,
    projectId: process.env.REACT_APP_FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID,
    storageBucket: process.env.REACT_APP_FIREBASE_STORAGE_BUCKET,
    messagingSenderId: process.env.REACT_APP_FIREBASE_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID,
    appId: process.env.REACT_APP_APPID,
    measurementId: process.env.REACT_APP_MEASUREMENT_ID,
  };

  const firebase = initializeApp(firebaseConfig);

  export const firestore = getFirestore(firebase);
  export const auth = getAuth()

My .env file is the root directory of my project has the matching variables. The last time I did this it worked just fine. Now, I found this documentation: https://firebase.google.com/docs/functions/config-env explaining how to use .env in your firebase environment. However, after setting up the appropriate firebase-tools, running firebase init Firestone, and the firebase deploy --only functions, it starts to work but then fails informing me that I need to be on the Blaze plan in order to do any of that. I am sure I'm probably overcomplicating the situation, but if I'm not then that means you have to jump on the paid plan just to be able to keep your apiKey in a secure location in your code? There must be something I'm missing.