diff --git a/ansible/_set_up_directories.yml b/ansible/_set_up_directories.yml
index 46376084..cd3de48e 100644
--- a/ansible/_set_up_directories.yml
+++ b/ansible/_set_up_directories.yml
@@ -8,15 +8,6 @@
     group: deploy
   become: true
 
-- name: Move .env file to shared directory
-  ansible.builtin.template:
-    src: "templates/dotenv.j2"
-    dest: "{{ project_root }}/shared/.env"
-    mode: "0755"
-    owner: deploy
-    group: deploy
-  become: true
-
 - name: Link .env to shared directory
   ansible.builtin.file:
     src: "{{ project_root }}/shared/.env"
diff --git a/ansible/deploy.yml b/ansible/deploy.yml
index 10b92a10..a18f5e44 100644
--- a/ansible/deploy.yml
+++ b/ansible/deploy.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
     update_front_end_deps: true
 
     # create new dotenv file in shared directory (use when adding new env vars)
-    update_dotenv: true
+    update_dotenv: false
 
     supervisor_restart: true
     supervisor_user: "deploy"